Today’s woke culture seems determined to keep the next generation from achieving anything of value or progressing toward their potential as human beings, and kicking the participation trophy era into overdrive has been just one of the ways to do so. The woke standards for success are now set by those who put the least amount of effort into being their best, and we give the top awards to those who are most likely to get their feelings hurt by not winning. Special treatment used to be frowned upon — but today, it’s a virtue.

While there are countless examples of this in modern culture, a highly controversial situation arose recently when a morbidly obese young woman named Sara Milliken took home the title of “Miss Alabama.” She won the crown over several other healthy, fit, and beautiful women who fit the mold of who we’d normally expect to win this type of competition. Many others on the stage clearly put effort into meeting the standards that have been set to qualify for such a title, but instead, first place went to someone the judges could use to demonstrate “inclusivity” while avoiding backlash for not awarding a bottom contender.

Milliken, 23, has faced criticism online since the win but is still attempting to use her newfound fame to inspire others. “No matter what your body looks like, no matter where you come from, you can do anything you set your mind to,” she told WKRG in a post-pageant interview.

Ironically, Milliken truly had an incredible opportunity to be influential in a positive way. She could have set a goal to become a healthier version of herself and demonstrated an ability to overcome challenges with weight. This platform would have provided a crucial source of inspiration that we are in desperate need of, as rates of obesity have reached crisis levels across the Western world.

However, Milliken is not being used as an example to motivate others to work on the habits that might be affecting their mental and physical health negatively and replace those habits with better choices. She is now the poster child for embracing whatever impulses suit your mood and feelings, no matter how destructive or detrimental. Her idea of motivating others is to have them ignore the consequences of their choices by simply talking about self-confidence and body positivity.

Similarly, another pageant story hit the headlines when a biological male going by the name of Bailey Anne Kennedy was crowned Miss Maryland, USA.

Kennedy, too, hopes to inspire young people. The win was a “whirlwind because I knew it was bigger than me,” he said. “I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all of the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up.”

With these individuals at the forefront of what it means to be recognized and celebrated in society, it is clear that today’s woke culture rewards destructive and degenerate behaviors, lifestyles, and actions. The goal is to encourage the next generation to be equally destructive and degenerate in their own habits and lifestyles.

In these cases, the qualities being promoted and incentivized are obesity, narcissism, delusion, and deceit.

Despite the many issues we might disagree on politically as a society, we used to be fairly unified on the idea that setting goals and working hard were important aspects of life in order to grow, progress, and reach our potential as human beings. As Thomas Edison put it, “There is no substitute for hard work.”

A successful and prosperous nation incentivizes and rewards individual effort. It promotes an equal opportunity system that allows people to meet the requirements to earn rewards and move up in society. Promotions, advanced titles, and scholarships are just some of the things that can be achieved through self-discipline and focus on meeting the standards that have been set.

If the goal is for society to create more hard workers and strong leaders, then logically, those who depict desirable traits and attributes would be front and center on the public stage.

By contrast, if society’s goal is to foster laziness, selfishness, and cheating others out of what they have worked for, then highlighting individuals like Sara Milliken and Bailey Anne Kennedy as people to emulate is just the way to do it.