Christianity is to blame for participation trophies
They upset the old pagan values of honor and valor by ushering in some mealy-mouthed horseshit about meekness and how those who have nothing shall inherit the kingdom by being lower than dogs and groveling for forgiveness. 2000 years of this shit and we're at a stage where everyone wants to be a victim, because of the implied martyrdom for whatever cause or focus group the sufferer thinks their righteous suffering qualifies them to be a spokesperson for. Everybody wants to get a trophy the same way everyone wants to get into heaven, even though Christians are constantly blathering about how they don't deserve god's love or whatever. If you truly believe that people get what they deserve in the end, then you should cease striving for heaven, because you are unlikely to deserve it, according to Christian theology. It is no surprise that countries with a history of being under the yoke of a religion that stresses mediocrity and getting what you don't deserve through brown-nosing and false humility should become such embarrassingly mind-numbing and anti-competitive nanny-state milkers as those that we find throughout much of the West.