I thought about heading to one of the Tea Party rallies in my area, even though I rarely attend protests, vigils, or the like. Given the descriptions of them in my daily newspapers, I’m glad I didn’t waste my time. I should have known better.
What I didn’t like was that the two Tea Parties near me weren’t only Tea Parties. That is to say while there were those in attendance who would have been more aligned with what I believe, there were also a good number protesting illegal immigration, and the supposed moral bankruptcy of the government and the nation, and Obama’s bailout (conveniently forgetting that Bush was the first to suggest giving taxpayer money to failing banks) and Obama’s power grab (which party was responsible for the USA PATRIOT Act again?), and so on, and so forth.
If McCain were elected instead of Obama, how many of the protesters would have shown up? McCain, like Bush, also supported the bailouts. Just a guess, but I think there would have not only been fewer protesters, but also fewer Tea Parties.
I would have gone to a true Tax Day rally on any April 15, no matter who was in office. Taxes are too high, government spending and debt is rampant, and there is little accountability to the taxpayer in any sense. That is and has been true no matter which of the two major parties was in control or whatever level of government is considered.
But three hours hanging around a bunch of red parrots? No thanks.
It’s why I write. If I believe taxes are too high, I don’t have to stand next some idiot comparing Obama to Mussolini. If I want the troops home from overseas, I’m not also automatically advocating the farce that is universal health care. And I hope I’ll keep that in mind the next time some seemingly agreeable political rally catches my attention.
Politics and the Olympics
April 17th, 2009 | No Comments »I have just read an interesting story about the Long Island University men’s basketball team and the 1936 Olympics.
To summarize, the LIU team, made up of descendants of Jewish and Italian immigrants, was not only talented enough to be the de facto Olympic squad but apparently to walk away with gold medals. The Olympics of 1936 were held in Berlin and Germany was, of course, under the rule of Adolf Hitler. Despite the desires of many for the LIU team do forego politics and participate, the team and university declined, citing the political atmosphere in Germany.
It was a principled, reasonable and understandable decision; after all, passing up the opportunity for the fame and glory of Olympic success does say a lot, even if, as the ESPN story says, the decision remained secret for over 60 years.
However, consider the following:
1936 was also the year Jesse Owens, a member of the “inferior” African race, won four medals in track and field. Though he arguably wasn’t personally making a political stand (Owens was against the US boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980), his victories certainly flew in the face of the idea of Aryan superiority.
In the Mexico City Olympics of 1968, two black athletes, Tommie Smith and Juan Carlos, placed first and third in the 200 meters. During the medal ceremony, each man lifted a glove fist and performed the Black Power salute.
Both of those actions seem just as principled and bold. In the case of 1968 Games, there was a call for black athlete boycott. If Smith and Carlos had done so, there is a good chance that the United States would have still won medals (see the results for the 100 and 400 meter races), so would the absence of black athletes have made as much of a point as Smith and Carlos did on the podium?
I certainly acknowledge that the politics of the Long Island University basketball team, the United States, the German citizens and what would eventually become the Third Reich are much, much more complicated than I could ever hope to state. However, I can’t help but to wonder what might have happened if LIU went to the Olympics in 1936.
Maybe going to the Olympics might have seemed like they were ignoring Hitler’s persecution of the Jews. It’s even possible they would have even been cheated out of the medals by unscrupulous officiating. Also given that Jewish sprinters Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were removed from the competition by US Olympic Committee chairman Avery Brundage, the LIU players (or at least the ones of Jewish descent) may never have gotten the chance. But if the LIU team was clearly better than the other players they would have been competing against, wouldn’t their victory also have made a statement against Hitler, especially coupled with Owens?
To say it bluntly: What a middle finger that would have been.
In the end, however, you just have to do what seems right to you. So hats off to the 1935-36 Long Island University basketball team for doing something that was far from easy. May we all have the fortitude to do so if the time ever comes.