“Risk versus reward, or something like that.” – Me, trying to recall exactly what the quote was.
Risk has always been a part of my life. I can remember countless hours carefully “strategizing” each and every move I made, hoping that I could keep moving forward until eventually feeling superior and dominant over those around me. It wasn’t so much ego as it was that I enjoyed being better than everyone else. I was able to stand the test of time – hours, sometimes over a span of days – until I was the last man standing. Ruler of the world.
But things have changed.
Risk is no longer a marathon as it once was. It can now be dealt with in a speedy fashion, ruining the anticipation and ultimate reward when one triumphs. Gone as well is the eventuality of it all – both for those willing to go for it, those who took one chance too many and those who failed to take enough to make it worthwhile. Risk has become a sprint – a role-playing game played on novice level. It’s bad enough that board games being referred to as “bored games” with the rise of video games, but Risk was able to last through the ages. Even the weaponry remained the same.
The evolution of Risk may be an allegory for the evolution of another type of “risk” – risk. Plotting a course is now done through GPS instead of cartography (the pushing of shopping carts in various directions to see far they went before they hit something). The game board barely resembles the world today in terms of geography and topography, although to be fair topography was more of a Life thing anyway. Long gone are the days when Alberta spanned the entire west coast of Canada. Long gone are the days I spent hunched over the board conquering Alberta, with its precious oil and comic book creator.
Risk shouldn’t be going against reward; risk is the reward. It’s a reward of being human. The risks we take shape who we are as people and a society. For example, I take risks every day by eating fatty foods, and it is the risks that I take in that choice that shapes the person I am. That shape is getting rounder every week. Tom Cruise once sang a song called “Risky Business” in his underwear before marrying Pacey’s love interest, and he has lived by that credo ever since, including a memorable turn as a shock DJ who goes on a quest for The Holy Grail with a delusional homeless man in “The Fisher King.” He could have easily done a film with the guy from Ishtar, but he steered clear. Too bad for Ned Beatty.
I implore each and every Eventualist out there to pull out their old edition of Risk eventually and play a game. It’s a game with frontiers…frontiers you can conquer. And it’s a war without tears. The only real risk involved is having an eventual good time.
