If one wants to understand what is wrong with the United States, there are many places we can go. We can look at the lack of social cohesion which makes people work for the common good. We can look at the fast-paced consumerism which embraces a quick buy and trash mentality, so that the nation is becoming a nation of trash: easily bought, easily discarded trash. If Gehenna is a trash dump, then America, by becoming one large trash dump, certainly qualifies as hell.
We need distractions, we need something to help make us forget we are living in hell. That’s where sports comes into play. It’s certainly a circus, and when the circus comes into town, everything – everything – makes way. This is exactly what is happening in Indianapolis for the Superbowl. The city, the poor people living in it, having to work in the middle of it, are finding out the negative effects the Superbowl will have on them. Street closings will make it impossible for some of them to get out of their home. They might be told they can have shuttles to get them around, but who will be able to go to the grocery store and bring back food in such a crowded shuttle? And how will they get to work – or how will people living in the outskirts of the city get to work? Again, some are being told to pay for parking spots and take shuttles in to the city. Really? Poor workers can afford this extra expense for the sake of the great circus? And, education, what about it? Schools are being affected, classes canceled. Sports, again, are shown to be more important than anything else.
Some people argue that the money collected will validate any difficulty hosting the Superbowl will have on the city. What money? When making deals for the Superbowl, the city gave up all kinds of money, and have given up all kinds of tax collection which they could have had from the Superbowl itself. Yes, some bars might find they make more money during the Superbowl, but what about other businesses which find they can’t get their workers or clients in to work? What about them? What compensation do they have? History shows, the so-called economic boost of hosting the Superbowl is exaggerated.
We love entertainment, and we let it take over our lives. Sports has become one of the great national idols. We sacrifice so many for the sake of sports. Is it not time we reconsider? Is it not time to take a look to the dark underbelly of the sports industry and what it is doing on our society? It’s not just a one time event. What is taking place in Indianapolis is taking place across the nation all the time. All for the sake of sports. We might be in hell, but we still got to have our football.
The greatest irony behind all of this is that those who argue against “big government” and “government handouts” are among the biggest supporters of all that is given away to the sporting industry. So we can get cooperation after all. But why is it only for the sake of sports? Isn’t there something better they should be working on?
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