Baseball Therapy
The Created Order included human dominion over the earth. What a cultivation that has been! It became a fight quickly. Early reports reveal Cain and Abel “fought like brothers.” If siblings fight, everyone else is game. Compassion (anywhere you see it, be in awe; celebrate!) competes with survival and sweetens the competition; however, essentially we fight. Even the bacteria and viruses are often hostiles. But some make vaccines — and the dollars attached! Largely deserved. Competition feeds households; compassion feeds “homeless.”
America is the land of opportunity — no rigid caste systems, no king’s dictates or one-branch of government, not even conscripted military service — because all are welcomed to compete in the economy, and legal entry into the arena is usually not that daunting (regulatory agencies sometimes withstanding). However, the problem with competition is that some finish ahead of others — winners and losers. But, the opportunities and ease of entry are so appealing that the American spirit endures — “Go West, young man”; set out on your own; defy the odds makers; prove the naysayers wrong; have an idea and get some capital together; rags to riches! If America deepens its flirtation with Socialism, the causes will be related to diminished opportunity and regulatory labyrinth. Do you think the American electorate will submit to those who would end the competition, declare themselves in charge, and regulate the details of our lives? However, those anti-Americans will not lack the technical means of a future tyranny. Let’s stay awake.
Some decry privilege, though it’s a function of having more victories — battles over land, money, commodities — over time and passing it on to “your people”(generation after generation). Victories accumulate spoils/riches. Even the C-suites and VPs and managers (don’t forget the assistant managers!) lay claim to titles and ensure others notice, though the old ones had more heft (king/queen, lord, vassal) — medals from the Grabfest.
Athletics provide such a rewarding competition for some. The less athletic — but interested — are reduced to spectators, often uniformed in their team’s colors. Recently, I studied the behaviors and gestures of the fans seated (though often standing) at a high profile college basketball game, fans of all ages, hair lengths, fashion preferences, and facial expressions (the extremes of elation and dejection). How those fans — the colors easily identified the sides — fought for their team!
Team loyalties — pride-fueled opportunities to identify with winners (my favorite team’s fight song encouraged the fans to vehemently declare, “We’re going to beat the hell out of you” — rule over our emotions every evening (if you have the heart for it) and dominate on Sundays. The Church is losing the battle for Sunday.
Interestingly, athletics has remained largely immune from calling for equality and decrying privilege. (Sure, the salary caps keep the big cities from buying up all the talent.) Funny how that changes when the competition is less physically and more mentally demanding. We’re going to toss out the SAT? End college admissions requirements?
Try as we may to reduce competition and enlarge compassion, superiority always finds an outlet for expression — and monetization!
The whistle to start the daily competition will blow until that Last Day. Need a break: take a seat for nine innings — competition at such gentle pace..