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Because I won't let them do it to me. I can't belive you haven't seen through all this crap yet, Ender. But I guess you're young. These other armies, they aren't the enemy. It's the teachers, they're the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other. The game is everything. Win, win, win. It amounts to nothing. We kill ourselves, go crazy trying to beat each other, and all the time the old bastards are watching us, studying us, discovering our weak points, deciding whether we're good enough or not. Well, good enough for what? I was six years old when they decided I was right for the program, but nobody ever asked if the program was right for me

Orson Scott Card#68

ControlManipulationEducationCompetition

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker argues that the real enemy is the system manipulating students into fighting each other.
In plain terms
The teachers control the game, not the other students.
What can you take from it?
Watch out for who benefits from your competition.

Where it applies

  • competitive schools
  • workplace

Putting it to work

  • group analysis
  • critical thinking

Questions to consider

  • Who benefits from your competition?
  • Is the game fair?

Another view

It assumes the speaker's view of reality is correct.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. Remember: the enemy's gate is down.

    Permalink to quote #67
  2. A great rabbi stands teaching in the marketplace. It happens that a husband finds proof that morning of his wife's adultry, and a mob carries her to the market…

    Permalink to quote #69
  3. Whether he likes it or not, [he] cannot remain incognito forever. He has outraged too many wise men and pleased too many fools to hide behind his too-appropria…

    Permalink to quote #66

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