Won't Fit on a Bumper Sticker

I wrote this comment in response to a facebook posting of an image that said "Those who wear a helmet to defend our country should make more than those who wear a helmet to play football."

The truth, the very sad and upsetting truth is that no one fighting in the name of the United States is actually protecting "the United Sates". They are protecting special interests of global corporations, some of which may be headquartered in the United States.

There is an argument to be made about rooting out terrorists that are plotting to attack the United States. However, there are far more effective ways to prevent those attacks than to run around their home with guns. In fact, running around the homes of people already upset enough with the US to plan attacks, with guns and in tanks, is a pretty good way to ensure that those people STAY upset with the US.

However, these are not the decisions of the individual members of the military. It is my opinion that those individual members should be compensated enough to have a comfortable life for them, and their families. They should have employment opportunities after their military service ends, and a military pension. When the United States government recruits an 18-year-old, it should understand the cost of supporting that person for another 70-80 years.

That the government doesn't make decisions this way is part of why high-profile athletes, and even low profile major league athletes make so much money. It is because humans are profoundly stupid, and short-sighted. Most of us, and especially those with a lot of money to waste, only look at dollars in and dollars out. But dollars in does not equal real value. The irony is that people who do understand the meaning of real value are unlikely to bother having a lot of money, and it is easier to procure power and influence with dollars than with living a valuable life.

But I find the comparison in this image to be kind of stupid. Both positions fill a role in society. American football players are providing entertainment, which a lot of people think is frivolous. Those people, however, do have means of entertaining themselves, and do not think of their own activities as frivolous. Entertainment is important, and American football in particular fills a very important role. I shudder to think of what fall 2012 in America would have been like without the ritual of the NFL and college football to distract all of the angry white (mostly male) conservatives in this country.

American football also fills a role in American society that exists in all societies, going back as far as we have recorded history. Like it or not, people like to watch other people, and sometimes animals, fight. Roman gladiators, jousting matches, organized boxing matches, rugby, and American football seem "barbaric", but they all let a lot of people (the spectators number higher than the participants) get their aggression out, without actually hurting anyone.

Cynically, I can say that American football gives stupid people, who are, sadly, the majority, something to get excited about. Whining that they should be excited about something else is a losing game.