My One Day to Rant

“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” That song keeps going through my mind this week.

The Texas tragedy, like others before, sucked the life out of me and has made it challenging to write. Also, there is no reason to listen to me. I’m just an ex-jock turned coach.

Wait a minute! The most intelligent man in the room is an ex-jock-turned coach. I’ve never felt so proud and empowered to be a coach after the words of Golden State Warrior coach Steve Kerr. No wonder the tragedy hits him so hard. He has been there before, having lived with sadness for years after his educator-father was killed years ago. He recognized how trivial sports seemed after such horror. Kerr walks the talk and is worth listening to as our supposed best and brightest that make our laws have little worthwhile to say. However, being an area out of my expertise, I won’t write on the politics of it all.

Similar Issues

What I do know is youth sports. People have come to believe that youth sports are only about winning. The desire to win has led to unrealistic pressure on kids to the point where unsportsmanlike adults cause the burnout that follows on the sports fields. In society, power has become more important than the truth and good of the community. You might say that things have always been that way. Perhaps, but I would argue that being thought of as “right” has overtaken logic and a shared sense of purpose. It has gotten to the point where basic humanity and love have no part in our politics. Like many things, the same has filtered into our daily lives. Many of our values for living a purposeful life have gotten lost in the desire to be “The Winner” and famous at any cost.

I won’t keep rambling, but things have gone wrong, and we need to change before more explosions. As Steve Kerr said, the answers begin with demanding more from the powers that be. Along with that, we must search for and elect leaders who have the following.

The Missing Ingredients Spur more Questions

We need leaders who have:

·       Unbiased views - those who believe in equality and justice for all. What is it about “All men are created equal” that people don’t understand?

·       Common sense – those who can look at things logically. Of course, that is subjective, but what is logical about suggesting more and more weapons lead to fewer dead? We are proving that is not the case or even possible. Guns are made to be used, so to think they won’t be is not common sense.

·       Empathy – whatever happened to people who have the desire and flexibility to put themselves in another’s shoes?

·       Compassion – similarly, where has concern for those less fortunate gone? And what is it about dead that people don’t understand?

·       Integrity – what happened to the honest, authentic, and trustworthy leaders? Do those mean anything anymore?

·       Conscientiousness – what happened to those who take pride in doing the right thing? And what is it about different that makes it wrong?

I am not usually one to rant and choose to look at the bright side of things, but like Steve Kerr, I am “fed up.” We should all be the same. Our pride as human beings and, specifically, Americans is at stake.

I pray for the victims’ families and the answers to come soon, knowing another similar incident is on the horizon.