Dave Pell, as usual, is articulate, funny, and what's more...I agree with him. A recent "NextDraft" newsletter from him (which you should subscribe to, by the way) starts out:
"I've watched enough tough guy movies and pay cable shows to know that it's more important that they respect you than it is that they like you. Life, the theory goes, is not a popularity contest. Yet, I've been involved in enough elementary school kickball-team-choosing moments to know that, of course, it is (for many a child - regardless of skill level - these memories remain slow and bouncy).