The problem with this is that it's half-right, and half truths can be more dangerous than blatant lies.
Teaching kids that winning isn't everything is a positive message. Embracing the possibility that you might lose and that's okay, that what we call failure is really more like learning/feedback/etc, that the only losers are the ones sitting on the sidelines talking shit about those competing when they themselves are afraid to do so because they don't want to be mocked/judged, that the courage to give your all to something whether you win or not is an admirable trait, that putting yourself in these positions where you are vulnerable to the scrutiny of armchair critics without a single fuck to give about their irrelevant criticism....these are all truths that need to be preached. My generation, my dad's generation, my grandfather's generation, etc would all be a lot less fucked up if we had been taught this from the beginning, as opposed to having it rammed down our throats that we're never enough.
But rewarding everyone the same whether they take first or last via participation medals teaches none of these things, the idea that all are equal when they are very obviously not equal doesn't make people emotionally healthier, it makes them delusional. The message shouldn't be "everyone is a winner", it should be "the worst competitor that's ever walked the earth deserves more respect than every armchair critic that doesn't compete all put together". And really, that should be extended to "those who live in such a way to their spirit's content that leaves them open to scrutiny deserve more respect than all combined who sit on the sidelines of life and do the scrutinizing".
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