jord I get what you are saying, but man its sports
fans are happy when they win, sad when they lose
jack, and most sane fans, don't really "hate" anyone from opposing sides. they do not really wish evil on anyone....ya I am with ya, I will never promote "hate" to my children, but I also see no problem with fans going crazy when they win....life is hard enough man, gives the average man something to root for, and something to be a part of...I think that is why sports are beautiful. They allow us to be a part of something otherwise we never would have gotten an opportunity.
some of the crazies, ya maybe I don't know I cant speak for them, but for the true sports advocate, the guy who roots like hell with buddies while drinking a beer, but gets up for work the next morning win or lose, I can tell ya this: they love their teams, and win or lose their life goes on, but with a win, life is that much sweeter :toast:
By no means am I saying you are bad or wrong for cheering for sports teams. Like I said, I get it. I'm just saying that the Prussians developed the school system, pep rally attitude to ingrain obedience and war into our heads. There is a reason the NFL so closely associates itself with the military. This type of attitude is indoctrination to support the team at all cause...
"question the war in those days, and many people would just give you a puzzled look, as if asking why they hated the Broncos. "Because they're our enemies!" According to whom? Had Iraq attacked us? "What are you, on their side? You're either with us or against us!" And the countless innocents who would die from the invasion? Probably fans of the other team, the jerks.
Even if you didn't support the war, you should of course "Support the Troops," preferably with a yellow magnet on your car (don't use a sticker, it could scuff the paint). Naturally, they're fighting for us, and it's important to support the home team, don't you know, even if the game itself seems pointless to you. And support them only by keeping them at war, no matter what, for years and years and years, because quitters don't win the championship ring. We need to bring home the gold. For our country, our honor, etc.
And when it comes to politics, the same logic applies. You can choose "your" team ? there are two big ones ? and then cheer for them, wear their t-shirts, wish harm upon the opposing team, and feel as if something's been accomplished when someone from your team wins a major office. Between the shouting matches at bars and the flaming blog posts, you'll barely notice how truly powerless you are.
Gatto's work reveals many ways government schools are designed to break human beings into mindless, obedient machines. There's the common teacher tactic of insulting and humiliating the kid who acts differently, or asks too many questions. There's the charming custom of begging for permission to carry out basic bodily functions, which many a teacher gleefully denies ? and you must have that hall pass so you can show your papers to the hall monitors, proving you have a right to pee.
Possibly most effective is the practice of age-ranked classes. Every child naturally looks to older children and adults as role models. The school denies us this, forcing kids to look to other kids their own age as role models. Everybody strives to be like everybody else, the source of the common teenage lament that "Everybody else dresses this way!" or "Everybody else is going to the party!" After more than a decade of this, we become adults desperate to prove to everyone else that we are just like everyone else. Much character development is also lost in the other direction ? older kids never learn the responsibility of looking out for younger kids, the understanding of subject matter that comes from helping to tutor them, or the fulfillment that comes from helping someone smaller and weaker than yourself.
All of this is useful for training obedient subjects who constantly adjust themselves to whatever they are told. When it comes to the martial virtues, however, there's nothing quite like a properly managed team-sports program. Kids can learn loyalty, teamwork, obedience, aggressiveness, and an animosity toward the "enemy" that can be snapped on at will. Some of these may sound virtuous by themselves ? but what about the German soldier who remains steadfastly loyal to Hitler, or engages in teamwork by helping operate a concentration camp? Those soldiers were several generations into the Prussian school system on which the American system is based.
Clearly, the individual needs an inner core of principles that he values more highly than the approval of the team, the coaches, and the rest of the school community. Such fierce individualism is at the heart of what it means to be American, and what it means to be human, and it is something government schools will never teach."
