The American culture?s grim determination to raise a race of wimps, weenies, hysterics and delicate snowflakes continues apace. Or is this a necessary adjustment to our growing incivility?

In Ohio, the Thunder United Metro Futbol Club, a kids? soccer league, held an experimental ?silent soccer weekend.? Parents and fans were told that there would be no shouting or cheering at the games. Clapping was permitted, but not whistling or using  noise makers. Team coaches were instructed to keep shouted instructions to a minimum. Printed signs and rally towels got a green light, since they are quiet.

The objective, of course, was to combat negative shouts and other demonstrations by parents and fans that might bruise youthful egos and squash self esteem.

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz for today:

Is banning crowd commentary at youth athletic events responsible, or irresponsible?

I guess I telegraphed my reaction at the beginning, but: Are you kidding me?

This is a variation on the Communist-inspired fad in the 70?s of kids sports without keeping score movement, which seems to have abated, thankfully. This is better, but still an attempt to re-engineer human nature at the price of making children overly vulnerable to the realities of life. Success and failure garners praise and criticism. This is immutable. The earlier an individual learns to do his or her best and not be intimidated or discouraged by jeers from the madding crowds, the better. Silent soccer, which is being tried in more places than just Lebanon, Ohio, is just a way to postpone enlightenment and experience, and teaches the false message that we can isolate ourselves from the consequences of our conduct by controlling the environment in which it occurs.

Sports is invaluable for the development of courage, character, sportsmanship, grace,  values, the understanding of culture, the ability to collaborate, and the skill to handle ?triumph and disaster, and to treat those two imposters just the same.?  The undoubtedly well-meaning adults who devise such monstrosities as ?silent soccer? think that they can preserve the pleasures of competition while minimizing the pain. It is a hopeless quest, and in this case, a cowardly one, where the ?solution? is to diminish the full experience of participating in a spectator sport for the young athletes because it is deemed less confrontational than addressing the real problem: jerks on the sidelines.

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Pointer: Fred