Competitive Eating?

Famed competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi could not set the Guinness world record for the fastest time to eat a 12 inch pizza. He needed to do it in 105 seconds with a knife and fork, yet the best he could muster was 123 seconds. This has led to speculation that the food athlete is past his prime, while his camp claims that the pizza wasn't cooked properly. That was the reason he couldn't eat it quickly enough.

So, what are we to gather from all of this?

More than anything else, that the west in general is becoming as decadent as the United States. Competitive eating? At the risk of sounding like a namby pamby liberal, that sort of competition truly mocks those in the world who have little or nothing to eat. It goes without saying that much of that issue ranges beyond simple poverty, or simply contributing to charity or even helping the poor directly by taking them food, as governments and various other forces are at work exacerbating the problem. The problem of poor food and poor nutrition isn't as easy as let them eat cake. Still, how can we in good conscience condone food eating contests when there are in fact so many in the world with little, if anything?

Laments that Mr. Kobayashi may be past his prime ignore that reality. If anything, they further insult the poor and hungry. They have nothing, yet this unfortunate soul may not be able to gobble down enough pizza, hot dogs, bratwurst, or whatever, to win his next eating contest or maintain his celebrity status. And we're expected to feel sorry for him.

It's just plain galling to demand that sort of consideration. Yet we should now better understand the slow decline of western civilization.