Any society functions on
certain values and understandings whether true values or not. Over time, those
societal values will start to bring fruits; things will come to a head. That is
then the time when we need to move toward self-examination within society. If
we refuse to do that and just want to engage in quick fixes, the problems will
accelerate, and societies will self-destruct. Any historian could give you examples of
societies who fell by their own hand.
TV
coverage of Sports shows us the cultural differences between America Wimbledon
tennis, the BBC commentators (British) speak as little as possible during
points and save their observations for the changeovers. On the other hand,
Geoff Mason, producer for NBC, called the British telecasts 'a little bit
sterile for our audience.’ American culture calls for focus on emotion, being super
aggressive, and getting closer to the action. Reserve and respect are not
our way of doing it.[1]
Respect does not seem to be a virtue in
our country. A reporter, a public figure,
presumed to be speaking out for the majority, will influence young people
negatively.
There is the misleading idea that competition in all
possible fields will diminish the kind of hostility, which leads to war. However,
there is the alternate view presented within individual research. “Anthropologist Richard Sipes selected a
random sample of cultures around the world and rated them for the frequency of
their wars and the presence or absence of combative sports. (sports that
involve body contact, the real or symbolic gaining of territory, and any
warlike action)...” the out come was…, that societies that encourage violence
in their sports are those that have the most wars.”[2]
In addition, if fans learn behavior from
players then we are teaching, amongst other things, our children and youth
behavior we have no business teaching them.
In an article on aggression and violence in sports, I
found following: “Sports are based on motivation theories since the core of
athletic competition is linked to the human compulsion towards excellence and
superiority. Thus, it seems logical to accept that sports are based on human
motives (e.g. Compulsion to win), which if not adequately fulfilled, can elicit
extreme behavioral patterns (e.g. Violent acts), which in turn are the
byproduct of repressed aggression.”[3]
This explanation makes it clear that sports are not helping prevent wars. Besides when it comes to the human compulsion
toward excellence and superiority, can they ever be fulfilled? If we succeed,
we want more and more of it. In one of my other blog entries, I investigated
the notion of superiority as well as how it violates everything that is human
love. Would it not make sense that training children to be aggressive in their
sports expands to all areas of their lives? Is it then a wonder that our
children are acting out; engaging in violent behavior? The interesting thing is
that not only the players but also the fans are more hostile after a game, even
if their team won. In Oklahoma
Aggressiveness by definition is ‘being out of control,’ hence, a cultural and learned response.
Often fans are not entertained unless there is a presence of aggressive behavior
of their sport heroes (especially in Football, Wrestling, etc.). Hence, the heroes
are encouraged and often go un-penalized. If such behavior on the other hand
was penalized it would bring back balance and perhaps put it to a stop, but who
would want to stop it?
The question becomes, as much as sports promote fitness,
are all sports good for us with present day guidelines and rules that allow for
lack of respect, honor, or even balance within the institutions that govern
them? If aggressive sports have such a negative impact, the conclusion would be
NO! Non-aggressive sports are rarely given the same airtime during Olympic coverage;
I believe they are not emotionally stimulating enough for the American
audience. Look at the research and
the statement made. Tavris, points out
“when the Cowboys lose a football game, the crime rate in Dallas
Another
problem is that we adore individuals instead of just enjoying the sport. The
statement made by Tarvis supports this; “The purpose of sporting rules, like the
purpose of manner, is to force us to put the game ahead of the individual. Yet by and large, we are a nation that
celebrates the individual over the team, the emotion over its control, the
rule-breaking over the rule, competition over cooperation. These values are
apparent in the sports we most enjoy and the players we pay most highly.”[5]
We encourage rule breaking by paying players who show violent displays,
highly. If anyone in any other social
setting would be displaying the same behavior, the consequences would be ‘go to jail.’ Not only do we encourage
rule breaking, we have created injustice.
It is
not that sports is the only piece in the puzzle of our increasing
violence amongst children and youth, but it IS an important piece
nonetheless. The ultimate question is not ‘can
we learn self control,’ the question is, ‘do we want to learn self control.’ It is a well-known fact that if we come to
understand early enough that self-control is essential to a functioning
society, change is affected. Therefore,
one individual at a time must make this choice before our country comes apart.
Will we as individuals, and as a community, be willing to make some of the
sacrifices for a better future? This should not be taken as a suggestion to
stop playing sports; the time has come when we need to move toward
self-examination within society. It is time to look at those societal values and
their fruits. Must is a word that is pivotal to making change in our attitude
toward them, or at least the behaviors that have become so prominent
surrounding them.
Self control
exercises
Sit quietly for a
moment and breathe. Try not to think of anything, just breathe. Soon you will
notice that your thoughts have their own conversations going on. Notice what is
being said there, and then let it go. Again, try to empty your mind. Keep on
doing that for a while. What have you learned?
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