Holy Mohammad! There's just so much anger in the world of radical Islam these days. Everywhere I turn, I hear cries of "blasphemy". They're burning down embassies because of cartoons in European newspapers. They rant and scream death to the American Great Satan at the drop of a hat. They want to remove Israel from the map as we know it. These guys are just way too wound up! They need another outlet for all of their angst.
When is the last time you went out into the streets with a huge crowd and hollered and yelled for the destruction of your enemy? Well for me, the last time I did that was when I went to an OSU football game last November at Reser Stadium. I yelled, screamed, cheered and went through a huge range of emotions. I got mad at the refs, those bastards. I laughed. I cried. And when it was over, I felt better for it, even though we lost to the Stanford Cardinal. In fact, on a smaller scale, I repeat that same emotional mantra whenever I watch the Portland Trail Blazers play on TV. It keeps me going. I feel better about the world around me. I look forward to my next "outlet".
I've begun thinking for awhile now that there's something in this Western cultural tradition that might make sense for the foreign policy of the United States. I'm serious too. What if Condolezza Rice began immediately establishing amateur and professional sports teams all over the place in Afghanistan and Iraq? I mean what do they have to root for now? Weightlifters? Greco-Roman Wrestlers? Crappy Olympic squads? When our troops arrived a few years ago, they were using the Kabul soccer stadium for beheadings! These people need a team to root for! They need to wear the colors. They need cool logos on their drab clothing. They need to get their testosterone-fueled rage release over the next big game between Falujah and Baghdad. They can march in the streets about it. They can build a giant bonfire and burn the enemy flag! It doesn't really matter what sport it is, but it should involve at least some level of violence. Rugby would be really great in that part of the world. American football would be excellent as well. We might have to start with soccer and work up from there. Maybe there is some new cross-breed sport that would really get the crowd lathered up. Maybe it involves camels and big sticks.
It could begin with the youngsters getting enrolled into "little leagues" as soon as possible. At the same time, professional teams should be established in every major city. I think the buzz would begin to spread, and pretty soon new divisions would begin popping up in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and, one can only hope, in Iran as well. It would take a few years, but I predict that we'd begin to see fewer and fewer "Death to the West" mob scenes. And with that, I'm guessing we'd begin seeing fewer suicide bombers as well. I mean why blow yourself up when you could be the star Striker for the Basra Boomers and still get all the chicks (think 40 virgins) after the game.
I think our Western society is no less violent and full-of-righteous-rage than our counterparts in the Middle East. We just have football, baseball, basketball, hockey and much. much more to help us deal with it. Think about it. When we defeated the Japanese at the end of World War II, what did we do within a few years? We started setting up baseball leagues! And look at Japan now. They don't want to fight with anyone. They're no longer hell-bent on world domination. They get the "sports thing". Maybe in addition to establishing democratic political systems across the Middle East, the United States and Europe should be spreading the emotional freedom, sheer joy, and personal discipline that comes in the form of competitive athletics. It just might work.
Holy Mohammad! There's just so much anger in the world of radical Islam these days. Everywhere I turn, I hear cries of "blasphemy". They're burning down embassies because of cartoons in European newspapers. They rant and scream death to the American Great Satan at the drop of a hat. They want to remove Israel from the map as we know it. These guys are just way too wound up! They need another outlet for all of their angst.
When is the last time you went out into the streets with a huge crowd and hollered and yelled for the destruction of your enemy? Well for me, the last time I did that was when I went to an OSU football game last November at Reser Stadium. I yelled, screamed, cheered and went through a huge range of emotions. I got mad at the refs, those bastards. I laughed. I cried. And when it was over, I felt better for it, even though we lost to the Stanford Cardinal. In fact, on a smaller scale, I repeat that same emotional mantra whenever I watch the Portland Trail Blazers play on TV. It keeps me going. I feel better about the world around me. I look forward to my next "outlet".
I've begun thinking for awhile now that there's something in this Western cultural tradition that might make sense for the foreign policy of the United States. I'm serious too. What if Condolezza Rice began immediately establishing amateur and professional sports teams all over the place in Afghanistan and Iraq? I mean what do they have to root for now? Weightlifters? Greco-Roman Wrestlers? Crappy Olympic squads? When our troops arrived a few years ago, they were using the Kabul soccer stadium for beheadings! These people need a team to root for! They need to wear the colors. They need cool logos on their drab clothing. They need to get their testosterone-fueled rage release over the next big game between Falujah and Baghdad. They can march in the streets about it. They can build a giant bonfire and burn the enemy flag! It doesn't really matter what sport it is, but it should involve at least some level of violence. Rugby would be really great in that part of the world. American football would be excellent as well. We might have to start with soccer and work up from there. Maybe there is some new cross-breed sport that would really get the crowd lathered up. Maybe it involves camels and big sticks.
It could begin with the youngsters getting enrolled into "little leagues" as soon as possible. At the same time, professional teams should be established in every major city. I think the buzz would begin to spread, and pretty soon new divisions would begin popping up in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and, one can only hope, in Iran as well. It would take a few years, but I predict that we'd begin to see fewer and fewer "Death to the West" mob scenes. And with that, I'm guessing we'd begin seeing fewer suicide bombers as well. I mean why blow yourself up when you could be the star Striker for the Basra Boomers and still get all the chicks (think 40 virgins) after the game.
I think our Western society is no less violent and full-of-righteous-rage than our counterparts in the Middle East. We just have football, baseball, basketball, hockey and much. much more to help us deal with it. Think about it. When we defeated the Japanese at the end of World War II, what did we do within a few years? We started setting up baseball leagues! And look at Japan now. They don't want to fight with anyone. They're no longer hell-bent on world domination. They get the "sports thing". Maybe in addition to establishing democratic political systems across the Middle East, the United States and Europe should be spreading the emotional freedom, sheer joy, and personal discipline that comes in the form of competitive athletics. It just might work.
1 comment:
I like it.
As noted on Almost Daily, there are some problems with this idea. Additionally, if we start any baseball leagues, we'll have to go to considerable effort to delicately explain the "suicide squeeze".
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