Categories: Kansas City Chiefs

American Sports and the Cost of Freedom

American Sports and the Cost of Freedom – America is lagging far behind in the race to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Yes, it’s also having a huge impact on a large part of our culture interested in Sports (and my right to watch as much Chiefs football as I want to binge on). However, the recovery process is far more important to the health, wealth and safety of those who live in this country, and the main reason we’ve had a problem bouncing back is, because of freedom, and the way some of us believe and think about what freedom is, or what it erroneously means.

According to Humanium.org the only complete freedom without restriction comes through: “the freedom of thought, conscience and opinion.”

There’s the real conflict for us Americans, who’d like to believe we are truly free, while those living in other countries are not free, and it comes as we begin to exercise our physical, or outward freedoms. Those freedoms include: Freedom of Speech and Expression, Freedom of Information, and Freedom of Religion. The reality is, none of these so-called freedoms, are freedoms without limitation(s). For example:

  • Freedom of Speech and Expression: you can’t yell fire in a movie theater, you can’t incite violence. Hate speech, racism, and discrimination are also restricted.
  • Freedom of Information: limiting and filtering specific kinds of information for young people, like pornography and violence can be seen by the Ratings system for movies. Information that would cause psychological harm and the presenting of false data are also considerably restricted.
  • Freedom of Religion: Limitations on religions which include polygamy, the practice of religion in schools, and a religion which practices of killing its members (as Jim Jones practiced).

So, no one is completely free to do as they please, any time they wish. We’re often told growing up, “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up.” Poppycock. You can’t go around killing others, without repercussions. So, how exactly, are we free?

That’s an open-ended question which is being answered in what we are calling, the American experiment. The problem is, while there are those who still insist that they are free to do as they please, any time they wish (for example: by not wearing a mask) then, sending our children back to school in the midst of a pandemic… is just that: an experiment. I taught school for 39 years and still consider myself a child-advocate, and I can not see how anyone who truly cares for their children would place them in harm’s way… for the sake of the American economy and one’s own personal gain. What will it take for the American public to see the Shakespearean tragedy of that choice. How much is your own profit worth… the death of one child? The death of ten children? 100 children? One thousand?

Seven years ago I met a wonderful lady online named Violette. We fell in love. I visited her country and she visited mine and we eventually married almost four years ago now. She shared that, prior to 1989, her country was a communist country and just how much things have changed there since then. One real vision she recalls sharing about her mother is, that she was always guaranteed a job — she was a trolley conductor — in that pre-1989 era. After democracy took over, everyone needed to scramble to find work and the country eventually was thrown into a recession, with a high unemployment rate. My Violette had to move to another country in Europe to find work.

The point of sharing that story is only to show that what we think of as freedom here in America, is just one kind of freedom. Would I say that her country was better off with communism? Absolutely not. However, her mother was much better off, and so were all the other adults looking for work. Violette, sharing her family story has made me rethink what we have here in the United States and what it means to be “free.” Capitalism is not freedom, per se, and is often counterintuitive. One way or the other, the freedoms we experience are: limited, restricted, confined, and controlled.

American’s Fascination With Rebellion

Early in the American experience, the original colonies were established through rebellion: an ongoing battle against hostile forces, while losing many lives. That was even long before the Revolutionary War, a violent fight for America’s Independence.

You could even say, our country arose out of rebellion, and those who enveloped the rebellious spirit, nurtured the genesis of the American movement.

I recall reading a book in high school, written in 1906 (no, that’s not when I went to high school), which had an impact on me called, “The Jungle,” by Upton Sinclair. It outlined pervasive human health violations and the crazy unsanitary practices in the American meat packing industry, early in the 20th century. The book was so controversial at the time that President Roosevelt (Theodore) called Sinclair a “crackpot” and he was considered a Muckraker (journalists exposing corruption). The “freedom” of the press was stifled much more then… and the irony that I can now write a piece like this without fear of legal reprisal, because of a book like The Jungle, is not lost on me.

Some of the most significant figures in American history were leaders of one kind of rebellion or another:

  • Daniel Shay – an American soldier, and eventually a farmer, was one of the leaders of Shays’ Rebellion (named after him) vs the tax laws in Massachusetts in 1786.
  • Geronimo – joined with three other Apache groups to carry out many battles against Mexican and U.S. military.
  • Susan B. Anthony – played a critical role in the women’s suffrage movement. She also promoted anti-slavery as early as age 17. 
  • W. E. B. Du Bois –  a sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who also was the first African American to earn a doctorate. Became a professor at Atlanta University.
  • Amelia Earhart – born in Atchison, Kansas, the first pilot to repeat (male or female) a nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Was not raised to be a “nice little girl.” Hallelujah!
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – so very popular, but I list him here because he once wrote something that has saved and even defined my life: “Human salvation is dependent upon the creatively maladjusted.” Once I read that, and digested it, I knew there was a place in the world for an misfit like me.

These are but a few of the heroes in American history who we have cherished over the decades and have provided a psychosocial template for our behavior as “free” Americans. Guides who appear to have broken the norm and consequently, so many of us believe we need to “break norms” to prove ourselves as owners of unlimited freedom. An unfettered freedom, which doesn’t exist in the reality of cause and effect, of events and consequences.

While many figures in American history were leaders of necessary rebellions, every rebellion was not created equally. A prime example is George Wallace: he was a rebel of a sort, but because of his racist beliefs he’s become a historical pariah.

Wearing a Mask: a Right, or Last Rite

Even after the United States has recorded more than 4.8 Million cases of Covid-19 with over 158,000 deaths — in just over 6 months — some Americans still believe it’s their Right (freedom) to not wear a mask. I’d guess that zero percent of those same people would argue that it’s their Right (freedom), to smoke in a public place, especially where a “No Smoking” sign is posted. Why? Because it was many decades ago that the government changed the laws here, restricting that Right (freedom) as a result of the health risks it presents to people, as well as others. In fact, it’s now common knowledge and practice. We also commonly understand that, second-hand smoke can cause cancer. People can change. Society can evolve.

Not wearing a mask is no one’s “right.” Wearing a mask, is simply the right thing to do.

2020 NFL Season Slip Sliding Away?

I want more than most fans, I would guess, for the NFL football season to take place the way it has for the past half a century, or longer. However, there are clues now that the season won’t take place as customarily planned. The Las Vegas Raiders have announced they’ll play all their Home games in newly built Allegiant Stadium — a place they left Oakland for, then built that spanking new 1.84 billion dollar stadium — and will do so, without any fans present in the stands. Also, as of this writing, the NFL has 46 players who have announced they are Opting Out for the 2020 season:

My own daughter has lost her livelihood as a result of the pandemic and I can personally feel the pain of those who share her predicament. That hasn’t stopped her from doing the right thing, by wearing a mask in public, even around me, especially around me. My brother has had the Covid-19, for 40 days, before he overcame it. No small feat for a 65 year old man. However, he consequently lost his professorship, and his livelihood, in the process as well.

I’m reminded of the old Crosby, Stills and Nash song, “Find the Cost of Freedom

Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground,
Mother Earth will swallow you, lay your body down
.

My hope is, that not one more American will need to, “lay your body down.” Wearing a mask, can save lives. Wearing a mask, is not an impingement upon anyone’s freedom. If anything, it could be saving a life. Maybe someone dear to you. Maybe your own. This is when you might argue, “So, All Lives Matter?” Well, in this case, you’d be right.

So please, wear a mask.

And not just because I want to watch the Chiefs #RunItBack this year (although, that’s true too).

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/american-sports-and-the-cost-of-freedom/#disqus_thread)

LadnerMorse

Recent Posts

The Top 5 Scariest Chiefs Moments of 2024

Laddie Morse I know that Halloween was a couple of weeks ago, but since 13…

22 hours ago

Chiefs: Pop and Omenihu Return

Laddie Morse I will say right up front, that it appears to me that both…

2 days ago

Chiefs: Pick a Little, Talk a Little

Laddie Morse Here's the "Pick a Little Talk a Little" song off of the Music…

3 days ago

Chiefs, Broncos Results

Laddie Morse Chiefs 16, Broncos 14 I have relatives in the Denver area and I'm…

4 days ago

Chiefs Host Broncos: OPEN THREAD

Laddie Morse The Kansas City Chiefs will be shooting for a 9-and-0 record today and…

5 days ago

Chiefs: 2024 Mid-seaon Awards

Laddie Morse Playoff Picture We’ve technically reached the half way point of the 2024 NFL…

6 days ago