Showing all posts tagged NFL

In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, January 8, 2018

Author SymphonyPosted on

American news has a culture of rhetoric. People in that culture rehearse the “I’m really serious about this” tone, mannerisms, and gestures. They genuinely believe that “serious” delivery and well-distributed reports are the primary cause of public opinion. They think Trump was elected by mere propaganda and so they fight back with mere propaganda as if mere propaganda was the problem and its own solution. Now, it’s more apparent than ever.

Since Trump announced, about 18 months ago, members of the “opinion class” have lived in a dream world that could not foretell the approaching train and cannot acknowledge the cause of the wreckage left when they wouldn’t get off the tracks. And now, it seems that they think maintaining that dream will cast some magical, mind-control spell on the public.

Disassemble Wolff’s comment, just as an example: “The economy is booming possibly because you’ll have someone who’s not capable of actually implementing any policies or regulation…” Since when did anyone in mainstream media believe that reducing government would help the economy? Then again, for people who think that rhetoric “trumps” results and that propaganda pulls rank over proof, such statements don’t seem like a contradiction.

Take Jake Tapper’s comment as he interrupted his guest, Stephen Miller: “I get it. There’s one viewer that you care about right now and you’re being obsequious… in order to please him.” That video has been reposted and shared across the Internet, being viewed thousands of times just in the last day. No way was Miller speaking to only one audience member. Some may remember the incident for using big words many in the audience don’t know, salacious and obsequious. But, few will notice that Tapper set a much more powerful precedent. By saying, “him,” Jake Tapper is on well-viewed and -documented record as believing that it is not insulting to use the masculine pronoun when referring to an individual who could be of any gender. That also is a reversal from the mainstream mass media.

Then, low ratings in the NFL are being blamed on having too many games for fans to watch, even though the NBA has more games than people can watch and it’s ratings are up through the roof. Since, as Wolff reports, the 25th Amendment is in discussion in so many places, perhaps it’s time to speculate the hypothetical that the NFL protests could have been part of some conspiracy to raise NBA ratings. Merely discussing hypotheticals is all that matters for something to be worthy of reporting, right?

While the Left takes their turn objecting in their own way to the opposing agenda pushing through the White House, the Right are more interested in the mass media meltdown. At least that’s how some people view it, but not everyone.

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In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, October 23, 2017

Author SymphonyPosted on

The world is a different place from when Reagan left office. Just a few years after a long series of events, Russia and the US ended the Cold War under George HW Bush. Since then, three presidents—two Democratic and one Republican—have had double terms. Now, it doesn’t so much matter whether arming-up is right or wrong, but that arming-up makes sense now when it didn’t 25 years ago.

Russia has been more and more aggressive, retaking an old militarily strategic part of the Ukraine. China is getting ready to launch aircraft carriers with a 30 year vision to become a global power. While no decision has been announced, the US is getting ready for a Cold War era “standby” of nuked-up bombers ready to launch at a moment’s notice. North Korea’s fate will be the soonest test of whether the move was wise.

All the nuking up with Russia and the old enemies came up in the Mueller investigation. It’s starting to look like the Obama administration, along with the Clintons and an interesting list of others, made it possible for North Korea to get the nukes it did. Russianewsgategate backfired, just as Symphony suspected.

The NFL is also continuing to slip. For too many years, business theory touted the virtue of cow-towing to any and every form of criticism from everywhere and anywhere. If a mouse doesn’t like the cat food, the cat food company must change its formula. It happened with Limbaugh’s sponsors, now it happened with the NFL. By catering to demands from the wrong people, the backbone customers felt betrayed and took their business elsewhere. If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything and the NFL, even for a brief moment, chose not to stand. Now, the NFL seems to be truly becoming historic, in more ways than one.

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In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, October 16, 2017

Author SymphonyPosted on

The NFL was a distraction. Some might say it still is. Trump is dismantling the Obama administration’s work piece by piece, but most of the Anti-Trump TV time is focused on the NFL. Many Americans who never cared about politics before spent their Sunday afternoons and Monday nights absorbed in the NFL. It was a “bread and circuses” entertainment model that centered around shoving its head in the sand where politics were concerned. When the NFL allowed their rules and their players to get political, the business violated its DNA and it was only ever going downhill from there.

Since, Americans have gotten more involved. Some have gone more Left, some more Right, but more good people are getting involved. The problem now is anger.

The nation is run by demagoguery and populist fads. Few understand critical thinking. Every idea is presumed to be part of an agenda, even at the coffee shop. Anti-Trumpists are feeling what Trumpists have felt for a long time: They aren’t getting what they want. After a few years, they might realize how much they have in common with the “other guy”. Many do already.

In the short run, America will see more and more hissy fits. But, eventually, they will talk to each other, see the results of policy and the consequences of election, and get their facts sorted out.

Strange as it sounds, American politics owe a great deal of gratitude to the NFL after all.

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In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, October 9, 2017

Author SymphonyPosted on

One way to reconcile Americans to agree on taxes could be in the so-called “fourth tier”. States, counties, and cities could be allowed to set that rate themselves, keeping half of their rate, but it still be taxed as a federal tax. That could also solve “no deduction for state and local taxes paid”. We’ll see.

Trump has new immigration proposals that could be enough to solve problems for the “Dreamers”. But, Washington likes its gridlock. It just wouldn’t be the same without telling we the people that we have to hate each other because of who is in office.

Both guns and gun laws can become a false sense of security. The big “takeaway” from the Las Vegas Rampage is how Americans are not only irritated with the news media, but are losing respect for celebrities “shooting” their mouths off only because they have an audience. Sometimes, “it” happens. It’s easy to exploit any tragedy to justify one’s own ideals. Las Vegas victims deserve better than to become politicized squabble fodder. Respect demands that those discussions offer freak disasters a moment of silence before resuming.

The NFL is getting back to its own rulebook. That may solve the controversy. Pence didn’t walk out without prior warning or plans. If players kneel to the flag that defines them as “not British”, they can’t object to their Vice President leaving their game.

The genuineness and individual integrity of the players should not be questioned. They just don’t know that disrespect of the flag isn’t activism; it’s a request that a different government to take over. But, when government-funded schools don’t teach that, players can’t be expected to know. Perhaps they could hold a fist over their heart to indicate they are “heartbroken” over the country they love.

There is also the issue of “raising awareness”. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought much progress by “making waves” when the Evangelical community objected to just that. Perhaps this is the only way players feel they have at their disposal to raise awareness about ongoing grievances. That  is understandable. Awareness has, indeed, been raised. Now, NFL rules—that players stand, hold their helmet in their left hands, and refrain from talking—will be enforced even among dissenters. The country can get back to important discussions and the NFL can start playing football, hopefully.

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In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, October 2, 2017

Author SymphonyPosted on

Eagles are attacking drones in Australia. Maybe they don’t like “terrible horrible no good very bad drones” in Australia. So far, North American eagles don’t seem interested… so far.

Several ratings are up: presidential polls, the Dow Jones, Hannity at 9 P.M., and an opposition senator in Alabama. NFL ratings, however, seem to be in severe decline. According to recent stats, the league’s popularity fell by about half in the general public, but by more than half among Trump supporters.

The “kneeling players” don’t seem to understand what they have gotten themselves into. They are not “bad” people. NFL dissidents do not generally begrudge the kneeling players as much as they begrudge the league. The nation is lucky that the US does not have a current formal declaration of war, lest protesting the US on foreign soil, namely Britain, be a “treasonous” offense. The players probably do not know that they are protesting the entire nation by not standing during a national anthem, nor about the legal meaning of protesting a nation’s flag while in another nation.

Walter Williams says that the problem goes back to education. While he focuses on Blacks having been, more or less, “nannied” too much, education around the country has declined. Racism should be discussed. Most Whites agree. Whether this person or that person said, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” is a technical question of fact, not any view of the importance of the ongoing problem of racism. But, the American public has not been educated to know the difference. For more and more Americans, to deny “hands up don’t shoot” in a specific situation means to deny that there is any issue of racism at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth. But, many people just don’t know the difference. That is a failure in public education.

The NFL players should be educated about the meaning of their actions. They are genuinely asking for something good. Doing it in the wrong way was not their intent, but it was the wrong way. The responsibility belongs to the NFL. But, the league has allowed itself to get too involved in politics and not done enough to prevent controversy driven by confusion, the kneeling players being only the latest in a long slew of grievances with their viewer base.

There is opportunity for deep change in America, especially with the NFL. The league could get back to football and stop playing “politics”. The players could be given a microphone and offered an alternate way to express their legitimate concerns. The country could clarify the truth about progress and “adaptive infections” where racism is concerned. Maybe the crisis in the NFL will initiate much needed conversation in America about many things, including thankfulness for a nation where those discussions can be held honestly. Whether the league chooses to save itself, however, is another question altogether.

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In Encore

Encore of Revival: America, September 25, 2017

Author SymphonyPosted on

“Welcome to New York.” President Donald Trump greeted diplomats and heads of state at the United Nations. Many of those diplomats have some kind of grudge or complaint against the only place on Earth safe enough for them to meet. Among them, North Korea’s envoy, who used disrespectful “name-calling” rhetoric similarly to the American Left and now American sports.

Kneeling during your nation’s national anthem, when standing is the respectful thing to do, does not make any move toward lowering conflict. Many nations would not allow such disrespect, but ingrates only disrespect the nations where they have such freedoms to take for granted.

Problems with “bad apple” police do not stem from lack of disrespect. Politicizing sports hasn’t made the country safer, it has hurt sports ratings on TV. People watch sports to get away from politics, to rest their minds and hearts, and to share common ground with friends. Taking away that common ground will take away common ground.

There are many problems in America. One of the biggest problems is that many powerful people don’t know how to solve problems, only spread them. For example, 20% of college students want to set a precedent that free speech should be shut down with violence.

So, while Congress is lowering taxes for the middle class and world leaders, once again, found America to be the safest place to exchange insults, top news this week was about the president vs sports.

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