The Violence of Nature

In our culture, we say that we abhor violence, yet we are fascinated by it, Just look at our movies and TV shows. We are taught to value peace and have no qualms about blowing Nations to bits when they disagree with us. We are a curious people. Perhaps we are so fascinated with violence because we are taught that violence is completely unacceptable.
The World, in fact the entire Cosmos, is violent. Stars are fueled by thermonuclear reactions, creating unthinkable hear. Here and there, they explode. Galaxies literally eat each other. On the Earth, we witness volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Just yesterday, America was able to witness the full fury of a Category 4 hurricane. The aftermaths of all of these events are horrific. But, witnessing the event itself, the eruptions of amazing force is to witness, not necessarily beauty, but the sublime. You cannot avoid being made aware of the awesome mystery.
So, having established that our Creator uses violence in his Creation, what about on the human level? We can be a violent lot and there is no reason to deny that. What can we do about that?
First, di not deny it. That just gives the violent urge just gives it more power. Bow, that does not mean to give in to these urges. Redirect the energy. Use it to find new answers, and, if you cannot do that, go out and find a way to burn off that energy. Work out. Play a sport. If you physically cannot do so, then sublimate the energy by watching physically violent activities such as football and boxing. The arts are another way to give safe vent to our darker impulses.
War is, to state the obvious, is violent and, while I think war is a stupid activity, it is justified in cases of direct attack by another Country. On a personal level, self defense or the defense of others is just fine.
The most troubling aspect of violence are the acts of random violence. Random acts of any sort are hard for humans to deal with. We want a neatly ordered World. We;;. it is ordered, but it is not always neat.
To sum up this rambling mess of a post, violence is part of the World and part of human nature. Sp be it. All you can do us learn to control, to sublimate, violent impulses and keep, by strength of will, your violent responses to a minimum. Peace is wonderful, but it will never, be the only game in the Universe. Have a fine day and say a prayer for thise who went through yesterday's monster storm.

And Now an Opposing View

It occurs to me that yesterday's predictions drifted a wee bit toward the gloomy side. I stand by all of them, but I do see some bright spots.
First, the announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice Kennedy. He was basically a moderate and I guarantee his replacement will be  conservative, a fairly young cponservative, who will sit there for many years. The President has Congressional Majorities and will hanner thiss appointment through before the mid terms. Hooray.
Second, by imposing his travel and immigration ban, now approved by the Supreme Court, the affedted countries will be forced to deal with their own problems instead of pushing dissidents over here. Most European natins will follow suit and the Mid East may finally setlle down.
We will finally redognize the importance of Latin Amerrica and turn our attention toward them, nor ro impose our will, but simply to become good neighbors.
We will see even lower Federal taxes. Local and State taxes may go up a bit,, but at least those officials know what their citizens need and want.
We will, at long last, make a serious move to repair our disgraceful infrastructure.
More, non violent criminals will be punished ny fines, community service and being restricted in their travels ( home to work and back).  This will lower the overall cost of imprisoning the truly dangerous. Also, more and more prisons will be administered by provate companies. Nothing improves efficiency ike looking for profits.
Likewise, you will see a move to have schools run by private companies. They may still be public, but not government administered.
The Space Program will return, only this time at a more practical level/ The first steps toward creating a Moon colony will begin. It will be small and, initially serve as a base for launching probes and Rover type missions to Mars, of course, but also to the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, which may actually support life. We will explore the asteroid belt and, at last see what lies beyond Pluto.
Huge entertainment blockbusters will give way to small local show.   They  are less expensive and usually more entertaining, Golf will become more popular as an actual sport people play instead of watching with the spread of tiny courses, (9. or even 6 holes), short and playable by all. Bowling will get more popular as will other sports that real people can play, badminton, croquet, flag football and such. Restaurant chains  and fine dining palaces will give way to small cafes, diners and even street vendors. On line shopping will fail just as soon as their business is hit with sales tax, which us right around the corner.
A religious revival will occur, but not the old time fire and brimstone evangelism. Instead, we will have a gentle, community action oriented faith, short on doctrine and long on helping those in need, and open to moderate Christians, Jews and Moslems, to  all the People of the Book. And, at last, we will have a religion compatible with science, as it used to be.
So, cheer up. Things are dark, but glimmers of light are staring to show. \

American Sports - Bigger, Stronger is Not Always Better

I have watched, the last 2 days, the Tournament of Champions PGA event from Hawaii. More and more, golf is becoming a power game. How far you can hit it? How strong and how fit are you? These are often the major topics of the commentators. It is impressive to watch guys bang it out there 350 yards, but there is more to the game than that.

Proof? The leader is last year's phenomenon. Jordan Speith. Jordan is a slightly longer than average driver, barely longer than average. McElroy. Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and many other players can bomb it 40 and 50 yard past him, yet Jordan was player of the year, won the Masters and the US Open and finished 4th at the British Open and second at the PGA. How? Skill combined with thought. By planning the round, by being consistent and by being a fine chipper and a superb putter, he can more than  compensate for the lack of power. The Game is mental and he is as tough as they come. You win at Golf by avoiding mistakes, minimizing the effects of the bad shots everyone hits, and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. Power, while nice, is not always an advantage. When long drivers are off and spraying the ball all over the course, they do not score well.

Golfers now, we are told, spend countless hours in the gym. If you want to do that. fine, I guess, but think of two things. First, the past greats of the game, for the most part did no such thing. Second, look at Bubba Watson. Bubba is as long as anyone, maybe longer, but by no means is he a great muscular guy. Actually, he is quite slender. Now, I am sure he does something to stay in shape, but his power doesn't come from hours in the gym. Instead, Bubba just seems to have an instinctual feel for how to get the most out of his swing. His power is the result of impeccable timing, each part perfectly coordinated to produce the utmost results.

An example of the limits of power and training is Tiger Woods. Tiger always had power, even when he was a skinny young man and that power, like Bubba's, came from the timing of his swing. Time went by, he became obsessed with fitness and muscle, and guess what? He got very little more distance. Then, as he became more and more bloated with muscle, the injuries started, and with each injury he spent more and more time in the gym. Finally, almost inevitably, he tore up his back. After surgery? Back to the gym, back to the course, and back to surgery, twice, and now, possibly through with the game. You can overdo exercise, and, unless you are planning a career as a power lifter, you need to use great care in the drive for power. Golf, like many other sports, is more that power.

Why this emphasis in Golf. Simple. They want to be as noticed and make as much money as other sports figures. Baseball and football, have over the years, placed more and more stress on power. The results? Season ending injuries in football  have become common. In the past, football players got beat up a lot but most made it through at least most of the year without catastrophic injury. Now, it is quite common for player to be out for the year before pre-season is over.

Same with baseball. Pitchers are constantly dealing with bad arms when in the old days, they pitched often, went deeper into the game (yes, they used to pitch the whole 9 innings, frequently). Position players got banged up and pulled muscles but missing months at a time was unheard of. Too much muscle is not a good idea. The building of unnatural muscle mass does not make you a lot stronger and those muscles are easy to tear. Also, in baseball, like golf, the drive for power causes other skills to falter.

Remember, in any sport, power is nice, to a limited degree, but how strong you are is not the issue. The important thing in any game of skill, especially at the professional level, is who wins.

Sports in America - the Farce Continues

Americans worship sports, not God, not Jesus, not Allah, nor any other deity. In small towns, throughout the heartland of the Nation, parents gather to adore their fledgling gods as they beat the snot out of each other on the gridiron, ignoring the countless concussions, broken bones, and occasional deaths that befall these wee warriors. When old enough, if blessed with the speed of a cheetah and the power of a raging hippopotamus, they take the National stage of college football. Oddly, they are given full scholarships. The word scholarship, containing the root word scholar, seems to indicate an academic slant to the whole thing, but, I swear, it is an absolute miracle that some of these guys even find the football field. Why don't they just create a minor league for pro football and let the universities get back to their stated business, education, something they do a dreadful job of.

Those Titans who survive college ball earn the right to play in the big time, the NFL, where, according to statistics, 93% will wind up with CTE, a devastating brain condition. Still, America demands entertainment, even if it requires large dumb men to beat each other senseless.

Baseball is less violent, but just as inane. I used to love baseball, but now the game is badly played by guys who, in days past, would not have advance past Double A ball. At one point, MLB had 2 players making $100000, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The great Stan Musial had to beg the Cardinals to pay him the same, even after long years of brilliant play. Now, .240 hitters who can barely field their position make 7 figure salaries. Pitchers, at one time, were expected to go 9 innings and called it a bad outing if they didn't make it at least 7. Now, a starter goes 5 innings, gives up 4 runs and says he had a good outing. Yet, still, we pack the stadiums.

Basketball has degenerated to a bunch of near giants lumbering up and down the court, slamming the ball through the net, and picking up huge checks. Boxing now has the credibility of pro wrestling. I watch horse racing, because I think there is little as beautiful as a thoroughbred in full stride, and golf because I take a sadistic glee in watching highly paid athletes struggle to make sense of a silly, frustrating game, while strolling around a beautiful park.

I have a proposal. Why don't we just finally admit that mentally we have not grown a bit since the days of the Roman Empire? Let's just throw a bunch of poor folks into the middle of an arena and let them pound on each other, with no rules and no referees. Last man standing wins a fortune and the right to come back until some other guy beats him half to death. It would be wonderfully entertaining. The networks would be wild over the ratings and perhaps our National lust for blood and heroes would at last be satisfied.