Volume 7, Issue 5
Because certain entertainers chose to boycott the half-time show. Intermission at the Super Bowl has, in and of itself, become a major production anticipated by fans of all race, creed, color and sex. The boycott is perplexing at best, and ridiculous at worst.
Why protest the Super Bowl? The NFL has done nothing wrong. The acrimony is based on Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing efforts to bring attention to alleged systemic police discrimination in American local government. The confrontations were magnified when fans disagreed on whether an NFL football game was an appropriate forum for such a demonstration. President Trump, by making his opinion known, broadened the base of Kaepernick’s support in reference to other divisive national issues.
Why protest and boycott the Super Bowl in general?
Charles Murray, author of the recent book Coming Apart, argues that the top and bottom of white America increasingly live in different cultures with the powerful upper class living in enclaves surrounded by their own kind, ignorant about life in mainstream America, and the lower class suffering from erosions of family and community life that strike at the heart of the pursuit of happiness. That divergence puts the success of the American project at risk.
The evidence in Coming Apart is about white America. Its message is about all of America. Immigration, in image, exacerbates the problem.
Murray further references America, societally, in its historical context. America was founded on the principle that, regardless of one’s station in life or the origins of one’s family, one’s pursuit of happiness was equal in rights. Up until 1960, Americans basically believed that democracy was the best form of government for achieving the purposes of one’s own desire. In supporting this ideal, Americans believed in the sweat equity of individual effort and responsibility. By supporting the concept’s principles and constitutional vision of the United States, citizens were committed to the concept of civic equity.
In 1968, upon the election of Richard Nixon, the great divide of the 1960s anti-war movement manifested itself in hardened, partisan politics. However, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-MT), when asked about how much Congress would cooperate with the new President, said, “...we will lean over backward to give him whatever support we possibly can and because he will be president of the United States, he will represent all of us and we will endeavor at all times to put the future of the nation ahead of the future of the party.”
He believed in civic equity.
Tonight, the President will address the country in the State of the Union Address. The union refers to the United States of America. However, union means ‘together.’ The state of our union, the United States, is critical. In fact, it is on life support.
No matter what President Trump says tonight, he will be opposed by the Democratic leadership and challenged by the national press. He will mention the need for bipartisan support for infrastructure, the repair of roads and bridges. The opposition will respond with no support unless he recognizes climate change. If he mentions easy first steps toward solving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) situation, the opposition will again refuse support unless it includes amnesty. The New York Times is already discounting any effort the President may present for unity. It is as if the Union is under attack as a purpose of division. There is no debate, dialog, or discussion about common civic purpose.
In 1991, during a meeting with the Secretary of State of China at the Great Hall of the Forbidden City, I was asked by the delegation how I thought democracy was working in America. I attempted in earnest to answer the question. The Secretary put his hand on my arm and stopped me. He said, “Marc, it is not a serious question. China, in 5000 years of history, has been divided six times as a nation and, at one point, for 400 years. The United States is only 215 years old. The answer to the question is….it’s too soon to tell.”
What is required for America to survive is a commitment from all citizens to invest in an idea that democracy is the best form of government to protect individual rights and the pursuit of happiness.
Actor Sam Elliott just received his first Academy Award nomination. When asked whether he regretted being typecast as characters that believe in moral conviction, he responded that he had no regrets. There is nothing wrong in believing in morality and individual initiative. He said he preferred portraying characters of high moral standards and hoped that when people look in their inner mirror, they know they’re not alone.
Tonight, watch the State of the Union. If you cannot watch it, read a review. Take it upon yourself to commit to your own moral vision of what the ideal of America means to you.
And, in so doing, know that by committing to civic equity, you have encouraged your fellow citizens to know that when they look in their inner mirror, they know they are not alone.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?