“Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” (Vince Lombardi, Fordham University, 1933)
Vince Lombardi has rightly gone down as one of the greatest head coaches in history. He led the Green Bay Packers to three straight championships in the 1960s, five in seven years, and won the first two Super Bowls after the 1966 and 1967 seasons. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan, so I didn’t especially like the Packers (hated them, actually), but I do remember, even as a youth, having great respect for Vince Lombardi. I didn’t know anybody who disliked Vince Lombardi as a man, though I’m sure there were some. He was special, beloved, and he should be.
I suspect many younger people today have never heard of him because history tends to weed out all but those whom we think we have some reason to remember. Vince Lombardi deserves to be remembered—and is, by many—but he’ll never attain the fame of a George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Adolf Hitler. We recall the good and the evil, and that isn’t altogether bad, but we forget some we shouldn’t.
I wonder if Vince Lombardi isn’t remembered today partly because his quote at the beginning of this article is so diametrically opposed to the modern-day, Leftist, Democratic Party “zeitgeist.” Chasing perfection is exactly what every one of us ought to do—to be as virtuous, righteous, as self-controlled and disciplined as possible. We should, especially morally, reach for the stars, go the extra mile, constantly examine and push ourselves to be as good as we can be. That is 100% diametrically opposed to what the Democratic Party and Leftist teach today, whose message to Americans (young Americans, especially) is “wallow in moral filth and mire as much as you want to do and we, the government, will take care of you. Especially don’t listen to any religion that tells you to practice self-control and virtue.” No, Vince Lombardi is not who the Left wants our people today to listen to.
Coach Lombardi was absolutely correct—none of us will ever attain perfection. That height simply doesn’t exist, consistently and especially morally, for any weak, frail human being. But because all of us are weak and frail and imperfect, we need to have that goal of perfection constantly placed before us, by our parents, our teachers, and yes, by our political leaders. We need to be taught, as Coach Lombardi said, to chase perfection “relentlessly,” to never give up in our attempt to improve ourselves, to reach for a pinnacle that is ever before us. No, as he says, we will never attain perfection, but, in a way, that’s good, because if we ever “arrive,” we’ll have nothing else to strive for. There is always something better for each of us to attain. At least, that’s what we should be taught.
But Coach Lombardi also understood and expressed a great truth: in our relentless quest for perfection, “along the way, we will catch excellence.” Excellence is short of perfection, but it is obviously far superior to mediocrity and depravity. And the harder we struggle for perfection, the closer we will get to excellence. That is obviously true on a football field (surely one of Coach Lombardi’s primary meanings, but not his only one), it is true in a math class, flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s, or being the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar corporation. It is also true as a moral human being. None of us are born with excellent self-control or discipline. That, too, comes with effort and relentless exertion. And, as Vince Lombardi said, we should never quit striving for excellence. For when we quit, we lose.
Why has America lost this great principle (or, at least, so many have)? We never, EVER hear political leaders talk about this, encouraging young people to strive relentlessly for perfection and excellence, to rise above themselves, and to practice self-control, virtue, self-discipline, inner examination, and personal moral growth. Why do we never hear that anymore?
Well, if Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or any Democrat—and 99% of Republicans—were to talk like that, what would the American people think? I, for one, would laugh in their faces. “Get the log out of your own eye, Joe, before you start telling other to get the speck out of theirs.” We have the most disgusting, morally putrid, debased, and rank set of politicians America has ever had. The Deep State is wallowing in filth. The vast majority of them—and no Democrat—has one iota of conscience in their souls. Lying, cheating, stealing, moral degradation is a way of life in Washington, D.C., and state capitals. Who would listen to people like that talk about “chasing perfection” and “catching excellence” along the way? They don’t talk about it for two reasons: one, they never practice it, and two, they probably don’t believe in it. Their actions certainly say they don’t.
This is why the family is of supreme importance. The family is the foundation and backbone of a civilized society because government “leaders” will almost invariably let people down. Thus, when the family falls, society craters. But the Left is doing everything it can today to destroy the family, and it is doing so for one reason—the Left believes in a totalitarian government. Totalitarian governments want 100% dominance and total control of education, especially moral education, and the family and God are the greatest enemies of that. Thus, the family’s control must be eradicated.
Notice the date of Vince Lombardi’s quote—1933. It wasn’t so long ago that America, by and large, believed and accepted this great man’s wisdom. But, no longer. And the results are abundantly manifest all around us today.
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