4 April 2013 –
Odds ‘N Ends:
I have delayed writing
long enough. My excuse is lame; I have been traveling for the last
three days from Kinshasa to Paris to Washington D.C., with meetings upon
arrival in D.C. But, I should have fought off jet lag and stayed up
to take advantage of the rich opportunities that recent news has provided for
sane comment. This morning, I am sitting in Dulles Airport waiting
for my flight to Atlanta and then to Houston. My six-month contract
in Africa will be finished upon arrival. When I see my wife’s face,
I shall be home. Yes, I shall be home.
Paul Simon's
lyrical insight into popular culture is as relevant today as it was when he
penned this line nearly fifty years ago: “I get all the news I need
on the weather report.” It seems that NBC and Jay Leno, the
twenty-year host of “The Tonight Show”, will part company next
Spring. Should it really matter beyond the shallows of entertainment
and the impending profits of market share who is going to host late-night talk
shows now or in the future? Should their comic routines, selection
and treatment of guests, or anything said on their programs, influence even one
whit political action in the United States? In essence, should
we hold these entertainers in higher esteem than street performers or World
Wrestling Federation steroid freaks? My answer is a firm
no. But, my opinion isn’t as universal as I would
wish. Today’s pundits have spent a lot of time commenting on how politically
conservative Jay Leno has become in his comic routines, especially compared to
David Letterman’s almost open disdain for all things
conservative. They are not stupid. They talk about it
because they know that the voice of America is not in reasoned, carefully-crafted
opinions of vital social issues. It is in the comic routines and the
antics of our entertainers. Sadly, this shallow, bread-and-circuses
approach to political thought is nearly universal. Six years ago,
while we were in Beijing, my wife and I had the opportunity to talk about the
United States with college students from Beijing University. Beida,
as it is called, could be considered the Harvard of China. When my
wife told one student, who was challenging everything I said to the group, that
he shouldn't believe everything he hears on CNN, the student said quite openly
that he learned everything he knows about the U.S. from “The John Stewart Show”
on television. Sheesh! Bugs Bunny was funnier and more
informed than John Stewart.
I say often that
my preferred form of entertainment, baseball, is far above this plebian
coil. I like to say that life imitates baseball, not the other way
around. I often use baseball’s rich metaphors to illustrate concepts
of virtue, truth, and discipline. And, Barry Bonds should never be
the Hall of Fame!! Ahem…refocus. At the same time,
however, I know deep down that baseball is just entertainment. As
beautifully comparable as my third son’s swing of a bat is to the sweep of an
eagle’s wing as it dives to strike its prey, it still is just a
swing. As forceful as a Nolan Ryan fastball was in reducing sluggers
to simps, it still was just a fastball. Such art forms’ importance
in life effectively ends when the game—the entertainment—is over. If
the greatest game mankind has ever devised and played can’t provide prophets to
guide us, then television entertainers certainly can’t. Turn
off the TV and read a book—on baseball, if possible.
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