Honestly, I feel there HAS to be a happy medium somewhere, and breeders should strive for that as much as possible. I know plenty of nice, well-meaning breeders who just went off the deep-end with showing their dogs and value a CH title 1000x more than any working title. Breeders also tend to take the standard and exaggerate it as much as possible, as seen in the "sloped" topline of show GSD's - which is beyond irresponsible. I do believe that kennel clubs have a responsibility to promote the working dog just as much/more than promoting the show dog... unfortunately the AKC fails miserably at that, IMHO.
More example picssss! One of these dogs is not like the others:
Only one of these dogs is a show Champion with no working titles/merits/experience/drive whatsoever. The other 3 have herding titles, but no show titles. =D Reeaally difficult, right?
My point is that Border Collies come in a variety of sizes/colors/looks, but the one parallel of all 3 of the workings dogs is the intensity, the look of intelligence, the general outline, & the style. Which that show Champion has none of. It is unmistakable.
IMO, a BC breeder can show their dogs as they please, but working drive should never be compromised & should completely come before appearance, as a priority. They're working dogs, not companion dogs... and that goes for a LOT of other breeds! If we're talking about health problems being bred into dogs for show purposes, let's also talk about: GSD's, Labs, etc. Not just the bully breeds are being bred to dangerous extremes in the show world.