David Freese is mobbed at home plate after circling the bases on his 11th inning game winning homer during Game 6 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Thursday October 27, 2011 in St. Louis. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
“Bread and circuses,” said the Roman writer Juvenal.
The “circuses” came with a sneer. Juvenal felt that the once-noble Roman citizenry no longer cared about good government. They wanted only to be amused.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that Juvenal was too negative. By the time he wrote about bread and circuses sometime in the early second century — although the Romans had not yet started to date things B.C. and A.D. — the situation in Rome was looking up. Juvenal had been born during the reign of Nero. Things then got steadier for a couple of centuries.
But still, the phrase and the sentiment behind it, lived on.
With us, the circuses are sports. They occupy our minds — I’m talking now about the smaller, less-developed male mind in particular — way too much. How many hours of my life have I devoted to the Cubs, the Blues or random football teams?
Sometimes when I would drive at night, I would search the dial for a game. Any game. It might be a team I didn’t care a whit about.
Although I score low on self-awareness, I would sometimes think, “What if I took this time to listen to a foreign language on tape?” Or, “What if I were to listen to an intelligent discussion on politics?”
That dates me, I know. An intelligent discussion on politics?
I used to think that was possible. I began my newspaper career at a conservative newspaper in Phoenix. The editorial writers all aspired to be William F. Buckley. They used big words. They took pride in sharp, but understated, retorts. Although I did not hang out with the editorial writers, I occasionally watched Buckley’s “Firing Line.” It was too educational for me.
But society changed. Buckley was replaced by Rush Limbaugh. He was an entertainer rather than an educator. He did not believe in understated retorts. He was not conservative as much as anti-liberal. The people on both sides who tried to copy his success were the same. They were anti-liberal or anti-conservative.
Middle-of-the-roaders were scorned. Terry Anderson was an Associated Press reporter in Lebanon when he was captured by Hezbollah fighters in 1985. He was held hostage for almost seven years. When he was finally released, he used his celebrity to get a radio show. It was a bust. He wasn’t angry enough. He later ran for the state senate in Ohio. His opponent said Anderson was “soft on terrorism” because he said he was trying to forgive his captors. Before joining the AP, Anderson had been a Marine in Vietnam.
So there is something to be said about sports. About circuses. About putting politics and anger aside.
Then the coronavirus came along and disrupted our lives. Or maybe you think media is using the virus, which you think is no worse than the flu, to disrupt our lives. I suppose it depends on what network you watch.
No matter. For whatever reason, the circus was suddenly put on hold. All the psychic energy that normally went into sports went where? Let me guess. You learned a foreign language. You bought an economics textbook and learned what Taft-Hartley is all about. You bought and watched reruns of “The Firing Line.”
Or something similar to this.
I did not. I watched reruns all right, but not “The Firing Line.” Reruns of old games!
Yes, I watched the Cubs win the 2016 World Series all over again. I saw the Blues win Game Seven again in Boston.
I used my time well.
Occasionally, I would accidentally turn on cable news. The blame lies with my wife. She is an engaged citizen. Juvenal would have liked her. She would rather watch news than “Forensic Files.” And watch an old game? That would make no sense to her.
“You know they’re going to win, right?”
“Mary, please. I think Ben Zobrist is about to hit a double down the line and Almora will score and Rizzo will go to third. Let me concentrate.”
So I got through the time of no circuses. I was relieved when they came back. Now real life has intruded on the circus.
This past week, some professional basketball and baseball teams decided not to play. They did this to show their solidarity with protesters. Some individual players opted to sit out even when their teams played.
Good for them. They, too, are engaged citizens. They are using their celebrity platform to express themselves. They have every right to do so. They want to make the world a better place.
It was a very imperfect place when I was young. But you could forget abut the imperfections when you went to the circus. It wasn’t the real world, and I understand that, but sometimes I miss it very much.
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August 29, 2020 at 10:40PM
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McClellan: Send in the clowns - STLtoday.com
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