Patriotism

Can anyone tell me why the national anthem should be played at a sporting event? Do we go to see a ball game or to celebrate our country? What does one have to do with the other? As a Canadian, I dearly love my country and would fight to defend it, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but I don't believe in waving the flag or singing the anthem at the drop of a hat. To me, a flag is useful to identify a ship, for instance. At a border crossing it tells you what country you're entering, in case you didn't know. In the U.S. the flag is a sacred object, not to be trod upon or desecrated in any way. It's a symbol, sure, but it's a piece of cloth for God's sake! The flag waves in the breeze, the anthem is sung by the latest popular rocker, eyes get dewy with hand over heart - come on you guys, get over it! You're not the hope of the world - take a good look at yourselves and the President you've chosen. Chauvinism sucks!
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." - Samual Johnson. Good ole' Sam must have anticipated George Bush. And here are a couple of quotes for the residents of American inner cities - "No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach." (W.C. Brann) "How can a man be said to have a country when he has no right to a square inch of it." (Henry George) Or how about Alexander Pope - "Who dare to love their country and be poor." And then Thomas Jefferson must have anticipated the present day - "Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. It gets curiouser and curiouser. The village idiot nominates one of his groupies for the Supreme Court. I would recommend institutional care for the two of them. Will Congress go along and approve this floozy? How about the weak-kneed Democrats? One more nail in the coffin of American democracy.

New York Yankees

The Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs. Good!! I'm glad. It's not because I dislike the players; quite the contrary - I admire them and enjoy watching them play. It's just that the Yankees have such an unfair advantage over the other teams because of their seemingless unlimited funds. They can go out and buy the best players and keep the ones they have. What team will outbid them for the services of Derek Jeter? I don't think any of the other teams are in danger of going bankrupt, but they just don't rate, money wise.
It's a well known law of nature that the strong will beat up on the weak, that the rich will get richer and the poor poorer. The meek shall inherit nothing, despite the pronouncement of a well known historic figure.
So what would I do if I were Commissioner of Baseball? Ha Ha!! I would distribute some of these superstars to other teams. Oh, I'd let them keep some, I'm not that mean. And then I would have TV revenue from all locations distributed evenly to all teams. Gate receipts would be left to the teams as an inducement to improve themselves. We hear a lot about level playing fields. So let's do some leveling.

Thanksgiving

This is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I can give thanks for many things - a good wife and loving family, comfortable home, peaceful neighbourhood, good health. But to whom should I give thanks? The idea, I think, is that God should be thanked. That's fine by me - if God has favoured me thus, I thank Him from the bottom of my heart. I wonder, however, why He would choose me over the folks in New Orleans, or the victims of the tsunami, or the victims of the Pakistani earthquake, or the folks in Iraq? Surely I'm not that special. Maybe I'm just lucky so far and there will be an Act of God, as it's called, just waiting for me.

Fair Play - Canada vs. U.S.

An issue in the news here is the softwood lumber dispute. The U.S. continues to impose heavy duties on our softwood lumber despite repeated decisions by the NAFTA dispute resolution tribunal that these duties are unfair and contravene the treaty. This tribunal orders the U.S. to return the $5 billion so far collected, but Washington continues to refuse.
There is a difference between Americans and Canadians when it comes to fair play, and I've lived long enough to recognize the difference. (It helps that I lived in the U.S. for a time.) True, many Americans are fair and many Canadians are not, but on the whole, we come out on the better side. Americans call it "playing hard ball". Never mind the rules, never mind fairness, winning is the name of the game. "We have the economic muscle, we have the guns, tough titty".
The following may be considered trivial in comparison, but it is indicative of a mind set. Several Octobers ago the Yankees were playing the Orioles, I believe it was, in the playoffs. Derek Jeter hit the ball out to the right field fence. Dave Martinez was standing at the base of the wall with his glove raised to make the catch when a boy reached out from the stands and deflected the ball into the stands. It was declared a home run. The Orioles protested vigourously to no avail. It was the wrong decision but that's not the point here. The boy was declared a hero by the fans. He was interviewed by the media. At a following game, a group of fans held aloft a sign saying "We love that kid". American fair play? Sportsmanship?

Virginal Heaven

We are told that young Muslims who sacrifice themselves in a jihad can expect immediate entry into Paradise and to be surrounded by lovely young dark-eyed virgins. According to a friend of mine, these martyrs fail to take into account the downside. These lovelies are permanent virgins.

RELIGION

What can we make of the fanatics of Islam? It is unnerving to consider that great numbers of true believers are willing to end their lives and that of many innocent others either in the name of God or because of blind fury at the wrongs done them by the western powers over the past few centuries.
And yet. Back in the middle ages Christian true believers behaved just as savagely. Suicide attacks may not have been the thing then, but countless numbers were willing to die in battle for the greater glory of God, believing that heaven awaited them. Kill the infidel and get the heavenly reward - the same belief that drives the Muslim fanatics of today. The Christians massacred each other over minor points of dogma.
Until the age of eighteen or so I was a devout Roman Catholic. But several years prior to that came the first chink in my belief. Our parish priest invieghed against free thinkers.
In the same sentence he condemned thieves, adulterers, free thinkers and other evil doers. We should believe what we're told and not question it because it's the word of God. I came away wondering what could be wrong with thinking for oneself?
The point is that religion teaches people not to think. Is that the meaning of the Good Shephard? We should all be sheep? More on this later.

On my birthday two years ago, I realized that I had used up my alloted time on earth, three score and ten. I believe that's what it says in the Bible. Feeling that I could go on a bit longer, I applied for an extension. It appears to have been granted because I'm still here, a little the worse for wear but not bad for all of that. I still look at the girls, even if they no longer look back. My tennis game could use some serious improvement but it's fun. As to curling, some days I'm hot, some days I'm not, but I love it. I retired eight years ago and I still miss going to work but that feeling is gradually diminishing. My wife manages to find jobs for me. At this time of year you'll find me watching the baseball playoffs. My Blue Jays are out of it so I don't really care who wins as long as the Yankees don't - it was a blast last year when the Red Sox beat them. I love baseball. I used to love hockey also, but since the game became Americanized into a gladiator contest, I've stopped watching. There may be hope however, in that this year, supposedly, the rules will be enforced to stop the clutching and grabbing. Something needs to be done. I remember the great Montreal teams of the 60s & 70s. We won't see their likes again.
As this is my first post, I'll leave off here.