Team success

I’ve always been a sports guy. Growing up in a small town, sports were my salvation. Baseball allowed me to acquire confidence by giving me a pursuit where I excelled, particularly in high school. Being competitive, athletically-built and possessing a right arm that allowed me to throw a white sphere past most boys my age, allowed me a good measure of success through my high school years.

After high school, my experience with the realities of big time sports at the college level brought me face-to-face with what happens when you no longer can perform due to injury. Looking back, much of my desire for cooperation and community comes from my experiences of team sports. The learned sacrifice that is so important for the success of one’s team—acquiring the ability to put aside what’s best for the individual to coalesce into a unit that is greater than the sum of its parts—I know it sounds corny, but I’ve seen its success firsthand over the years of playing and later, as a coach.

Over the past few years, I’ve lost interest in much of what passes for professional sports. While I coach a group of college-age baseball players every summer, I couldn’t get excited about this year’s Red Sox finally putting away “the curse” and winning the World Series. The same is true about basketball and hockey. While I followed professional football and the old Boston Patriots when I was as young as eight or nine, I have lost interest in pro football over the past decade or so. Occasionally, I’ll read an article in The Globe about the team and its recent successes. I am aware that Coach Bill Belichick has assembled a team in the truest sense of the word. The current Patriots play old-time football and embody the concept of self-sacrifice that I speak of from my experiences. That’s not easy to do in a world of professional sports that has been overrun by corporate interests bastardizing the simplicity of sports that we learned as children.

On Friday, I drove to visit my son at college. He attends Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, which is about 10 miles away from Gillette Stadium, the home of the Patriots. I had never driven through Foxborough, or had seen the stadium up close, so I got off the Interstate a few exits early just to drive by the complex where the Pats play. Like so often happens, I have become intrigued by the historical machinations of how the team came to be located out in this remote area of Massachusetts—Foxborough is basically a drive through community on U.S. Rte 1—between Boston and Providence. In the early days of the Patriots, they were based in Boston and even played their games at Fenway Park from 1963-1969, before relocating to suburban Foxborough.

I say all of this to introduce an article in today’s Boston Globe about Willie McGinest, who plays defensive end for the Patriots. The article highlights the humility of a man who plays a sport that prefers flamboyance and celebration to quiet acts of sacrifice. It shows that regardless of the culture around us, dignity and humanity can still flourish. This gives me hope, in light of our dominant culture that seeks to extinguish those very elements from our DNA.

The sucker in me for human interest stories will probably have me sitting in front of my TV tonight. I’ll be watching the actions of #55 for New England, as they play Pittsburgh in this evening’s post-blizzard contest in the Steel City.

The sound of the planet dying

It's Saturday night and the snowstorm that's been bearing down on the Northeast for most of the day has apparently arrived. After a couple of glasses of wine, I'm in a perfectly maudlin mindset to reflect upon the state of the country, and I guess, the world.

Earlier today, I read Rick Perlstein's article, "The Eve of Destruction". The Barry McGuire version, with Barry's gravelly voice keeps ringing in my head as I consider some of Perlstein's thoughts from earlier.

The proverbial "inmates are running the asylum" comes to mind as I reflect back on the week. Seeing the Napoleanic strutting of Bush and his henchman, against the backdrop of DC police pepper spraying those brave enough to stand up to the empire, hasn't left me terribly optimistic. There was an armed presence unlike anything we've ever witnessed in our lifetimes at an inaugural, protecting an elected official from the masses, and we don't bat an eyelash in protest. Realizing that when someone who ordinarily would be considered ready for the men in the white coats, is a trusted friend and supporter of the White House, is a clear indication that something is terribly amiss in our land. We have an Attorney General who has no concern for international rules of law and advocates torture. Our President, who was AWOL for most of the prior seven months before the events of 9-11, is thought of by half of the country as our savior from terror and worthy of another term. We sit in front of our TV sets and see a woman who looks like she's received a lobotomy, wearing a dress that cost $10,000 or more (?), and we laud her as someone worthy of honor, shows how far we've fallen. (see # 40)

You see, if you read Perlstein's article closely, everything that the Bush administration does is part of a closely calculated plan to destroy the American way of life that has been part and parcel of our heritage since the end of the Second World War. Social Security, progressive taxation, our educational system, all are being dismantled as part of the Bush vision of an "ownnership society".

Adding to this dystopian scenario is the damocles sword of another terrorist attack upon our country and the ratcheting down of a police state that would make the reality of totalitarian rule complete.

I don't know whether I'm being alarmist or prophetic. All I know is that things don't look too good for liberty and freedom for you and I, despite what our fearless leader babbled on about during his sermon on coronation day.

The anointing

I spent Coronation Day morning away from the television and radio and missed the President’s address. I had driven north on the snowy and windy interstate to the small town of Dexter, Maine to conduct another interview for When Towns Had Teams. While I'm busy with the actual writing, I'm still conducting additional interviews for later chapters, or to fill in gaps in information that I might still have.

Researching my book about local baseball in Maine has allowed me the privilege to sit down with the true greatness of America—its ordinary citizens—the real movers and shakers of liberty and freedom.

Of course, I did flick on NPR on my drive home. Even the commentators on public radio were somewhat taken aback by Bush's stern and serious tone—some called it a “scolding” tone—of his inaugural speech/sermon. I can’t remember which commentator it was, possibly Howard Fineman of Newsweek, who said that Bush was channeling the hellfire and brimstone of Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards.

If I do watch any mainstream news in the evening, it is usually Keith Olbermann’s Countdown. Olbermann (he even has a blog) won my respect when he was one of a small fringe in any mainstream context, willing to look at possible irregularities and even fraud in Ohio’s voting results.

The other channels kept showing the swearing in, or the other standard clips of Bush dancing with Laura (who looked a bit pudgy in that world-class dress she supposedly was wearing; personally, I thought it was hideous, but that’s just me showing my obvious lack of pedigree). Even the usually adroit C-Span spent about an hour devoted to a couple of “prunes” gushing about Laura’s dress (I’m sorry, but it was freakin’ ugly!).

It would have been nice if someone had shown that there was a bit of dissent afoot in W-town yesterday. NPR did break away and have a correspondent at Lafayette Park where apparently much of the counter-inaugural activities were happening. Olbermann showed the limo being pelted by eggs (an internet report has it that the limo sped past protesters—probably at Bush’s behest—and slowed down beyond the cordoned off malcontents), but by and large, it was the usual “all is well” coverage of the Bush junta.

One good thing about a second term for an aristocrat—it tends to improve the offerings coming from the rock world. Reagan’s second term spawned the heyday of punk and some of the best protest music since the late-60’s, so at least I have that to look forward to.

Lastly, if you couldn't get enough of the liberty and freedom talk yesterday, here are a few pictures to remind you exactly what the Fuhrer's code words mean to those we are extending our beneficence to.

The photos and accompanying story ran on the BBC. Newsday picked it up here, but why wasn't it all over the U.S. press? Gee, I wonder?

For those who hold to the throwback theology of Edwards (and fundamentalists in the United States), I have one thing left to say; judgement day's a comin'!

Symbolism and show, over substance

So much of our protest in America is symbolic. I’m sure it makes everyone feel good about themselves (myself included), but I question how effective any of it really is. Tomorrow’s “Not One Damn Dime Day!” comes to mind in discussions about symbolic protest, versus planned, sustainable and effective actions.

My thoughts on this subject and much of the “lifestyle” activism that is so fashionable, is prompted by the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and time spent considering how his work and life had such a lasting quality to it.

On Monday, Heather Gray’s provocative article at Counterpunch touched on the misconceptions about King’s role and legacy, as well as the methods that he employed in speaking to power in this country. As thoughtful writing so often does, Gray really made me sit up and take notice when she spoke to the matter of fighting injustice. With quotes like, “Nonviolent social change requires long, hard and sustained work, research, development of solutions, and, importantly, on-going commitment. It demands far more than bringing folks together to march and wave banners”, you know that you aren’t dealing with some liberal feel good, lets march up and down and sing “kumbaya” means of protest article.

Since the immoral and unjust war began in Iraq, I’ve marched in three different marches, attended countless rallies decrying George Bush and his administration of lies, as well as its attending security culture in the U.S. Nothing’s changed. Innocent men, women and children are still dying. We've seen the USAPA blanket dissent in this country with a palpable fear.

Once again, we are being told that if we don’t buy that Snickers candy bar, or put a tank of gas in our car, then magically, this theocratic demagogue that claims he’s our duly (dubiously?) elected leader, is going to reconsider his ways and have the troops home by this weekend.

I understand the concepts underlying the protest—that disabling our economy by withholding capital can make a difference and make our leaders take notice—it’s just that in order to do this, it will take weeks and months of capital starvation before anyone notices. One solitary day and $10 worth of purchases won’t bring down our consumer machine. Oh, I know—everyone will be able to pat themselves on the back—like we did when we voted in November, only to see many of our votes not counted, or thrown out. This after we were harangued and shamed by the "Anybody But Bush" nazis into voting for the empty suit ticket of Kerry/Edwards.

Based upon her research, Gray came up with the following methods that King used so effectively in his campaigns to bring about lasting social change. They were certainly effective enough to get him killed. From Gray’s article, here is a brief summary of those methods: (1) once the problem is identified it is essential to research the issue (i.e. define the problem, who are the key players, who or what is being affected) - the research and analysis should be above reproach as disputed or incorrect facts and figures can completely undermine the efforts for the evolving campaign; (2) based on the research, state clearly what needs to change to solve the problem and identify the strategy for solving the problem; (3) recruit others to join the struggle, share your findings and strategies, get their input if necessary, but essentially seek a commitment from them (i.e. this is the problem, this is what we intend to do, are you with us?) (4) teach them in nonviolent tactics (i.e. being non-confrontational during direct action); (5) attempt to resolve the problem through negotiations (i.e. negotiations with whoever controls the policies needing to be changed); (6) if that doesn't work, apply pressure through direct action techniques, which at times need to be sustained for a lengthy period (i.e. boycotts, mass demonstrations); (7) negotiate again, if necessary engage in direct action again - often more research is required or more clarity on the solutions needs to be developed; (8) finally, if the problem is solved, seek reconciliation.

I’m all for bringing down the empire and stopping this unjust war, I just don’t want to participate in any more “lifestyle” events that are symbolic versus substantive.

Flag droppings

This just in from the "weird item of the day" file:

Seems as though someone in Germany has invented a new style of flag stand.