In the end, isn’t that what counts?

Follow this authorAlexandra Petri's opinions

Your babysitter arrives. “I’m here to watch your toddler,” she announces. “Great,” you say. “And you know how to do CPR?” “Well,” she says, “I will certainly try my best, and, in the end, isn’t that what counts?"

You have an apple balanced on your head. “And you’re sure you can hit it?” you yell at William Tell. He shrugs. “Well, the important thing, though, is that I give it my all.”

In none of these scenarios do I find this statement reassuring. “What matters is that you gave it your all” is what you say to your son as he tries out for the high school track team, a situation where, if his all is not good enough, zero other people will suffer.

Advertisement

You can tell your Little League team that what counts is that they left it all on the field, because if they do not win, the other team is not going to pillage their city. In any scenario in which the stakes involve other people’s lives, I would respond to the suggestion that “giving it your all, and doing your best” is what it really is all about by saying, actually, no! Actually, it really depends on what your best is. Maybe that’s what counts for you, but you are not the only person affected!

You are........

© Washington Post