We need to wise up
Another blow has emerged for young folks thinking about fair play and honesty in their daily lives. The past few day”s discussions as to the right or wrong of cheating to win is being played out over the airways. The issue of the deflated footballs seems to be have a 50-50 split on how a little cheating is OK in playing sports, doing your taxes, or lying to your family, friends and neighbors, etc.
I think this was mostly started by the advertising industry way back when. It has grown since then to cover just about every area of our daily lives. The race for greater profits seems to be the fuel that powers this action.
The event of the year will be peppered with ball jokes, which will be greatly watched to see which ones will be allowed to be broadcast or shown. I would not be surprised to see a Jockstrap company have an ad for us that highlights our National news for a week or two after this event is over.
The factor of cheating will most likely take a back seat to the right or wrong of the issue. Each year, as world soccer is promoted in our country, we say little about that sport”s unruly and often brutal fan reactions. These are eventually seen and noted in our nation”s fan bases. Good sportsmanship has fallen to the wayside, due partially to the fact that the cost of tickets keeps our small children from attending events that helped make the fan more civil due to their presence. In our homes they witness parents and their friends react to every dropped ball, strikeout and loss of game, with such violent reactions every weekend that they too imitate such actions at their own little league sports programs. This same reaction was evident in the era of wild west western shows, which showed how we should act when becoming an adult and hit the night life of the bar scene. It seemed normal to fight, break furniture, manhandle women as play things and get sloppy drunk.
As to the current issue, if any type of cheating is given a simple slap on the wrist with a puny monetary fine or penalty, a greater use of lying and cheating will grow and take the enjoyment of competing and testing honest skills that build character for both our minds and bodies. Power, wealth and greed will be the norm for the goals in the values of our future citizens, our children, instead of compassion, fair play, and tolerance. I truly hope we wise up some day.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
What is more important?
By America not showing up at the Unity March in Paris shows even the left wing press how lame this administration is. Delusional, out of touch, ill-informed, uninformed, narcissistic and narrow minded are the most frequently words used to describe this latest gaff of the President.
He would have fit right in standing next to the socialist President of France, but the NFL playoff games were probably more important, just like golf and fundraising.
The Muslim Religion is the most repressive religion in the world, especially under Sharia law. You want to talk about the Republicans” war on women, it doesn”t hold a candle compared with the stoning to death of women and the genital mutilation of women under Sharia Law. The NOW crowd would last about 10 seconds under Sharia law.
The White House Press Secretary”s excuse for the Administration not showing up at the Unity March was so lame it is beyond belief. This was a deliberate decision by the Obama Administration not to attend. One million people marching behind 40 World Leaders against radical Muslim extremist and not a single American Leader is there.
This is not just an oops on the part of this Administration! Prime Minister Netanyahu is a bigger target than President Obama and VP Joe Biden is the biggest joke in American politics, so why not send him? Oh that”s right, the NFL playoffs are more important! Anybody with an ounce of sense could tell you President Obama was home watching the playoffs, yet the Press Secretary didn”t know what he was doing? Doubt me, why didn”t the press sec give a creditable excuse in the news conference as to why America was a no -how at the Unity March in Paris.
This President shuns Israeli PM Netanyahu but will sit down for an interview with a YouTube sensation, (who bathes in milk while eating fruit loops and shoves condoms up her nose), for an interview. How many of you would be caught dead with this woman? All of this for maybe 5 million votes, boy is this scraping the bottom of the barrel. Many of the people in the YouTube world probably don”t have a clue about world affairs, let alone American politics.
There is getting to be a larger distance between realsville and Obamaland, i.e.: fantasyland.
Mac McKay, Lakeport
Simon says
When it comes to religion and politics, Paul Simon said it well with few words in the song “The Boxer”.
“Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”
From ”The Boxer” by Paul Simon
Tim Snider, Lakeport
