Hillism

Better dead than red? Better dead than any form of party affiliation at all. 

It seems so obvious to me that we can do better than this. I don't know the word for the thing we could be doing and aren't. However, whatever the word is, one of its antonyms is [politics]. 

Remember running down a hill, letting gravity speed you up, going so fast you're no longer fully in control. It is the opposite of politics. It's fun, and nobody is harmed. The Martial virtues aren't bad, but a) they aren't politics either and b) they're hardly the full range of eudaimonic potential. You don't have to run down a hill better than someone else for it to be fun. 

I take it further: the Martial virtues should be slotted into the run-down-hill scheme. Fiero ought to be pursued for its running-down-hill value, with others pursuing it in the same way and for the same reasons. In a proper Martial contest, one loses without being harmed. You can even die without being harmed, if you're really playing for keeps. 

When the Martial virtues and the running-down-hill virtues come into conflict, when loss does in fact mean harm, the Martial values have betrayed themselves and should be opposed. The contestants should find more value in playing for keeps than value in staying alive.

Better dead than unable to run down hills.