By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
She exited a fast food restaurant loaded with rations. One hand held a large bag of food; the other
clutched a drink carrier bowing precariously under the weight of several 32oz
beverages. As she shuffled across the
parking lot, disaster seemed likely.
But she made it to her car – mostly.
Halfway through the journey, a straw was blown to the
ground. She wisely abandoned the
accessory, focusing instead on safely delivering the primary cargo to her
car. Best case, it could be
retrieved. Worst case, she’d return to
the restaurant for a replacement.
Neither was necessary.
As she got to her car and turned to check on the straw, a man brought it
to her. He saw the errant straw, stopped
his vehicle, fetched it from the parking lot and walked it over to the grateful
woman.
It was a small thing.
A simple act of kindness. In
context, it was a powerful moment.
There has been much of late, in the world of sports
and otherwise, to challenge even the most stubborn optimist’s faith in humanity
and belief that the world’s good outweighs its bad.
Catholics, in the wake of the unconscionable and
disgusting sexual abuse scandals, are left wondering how this church could
preach its moral code – and burden the non-compliant with heavy consciences -
while so many of its clergy preyed on children and its leaders protected the
predators. Was Catholicism a ruse? Did all those financial contributions at mass
do good or support the legal defense fund of pedophiles and a corrupt
institution?
The presidency, often a source of wisdom and calming
perspective, has of late created consistent national inflammation. President Trump’s expressed opinions on
immigrants, minorities, Muslims, women and a free press, in addition to a long
list of personal indiscretions and curious international interactions, have
deeply disturbed critics. But it is hard
to imagine that his free-thinking political supporters, in their heart of
hearts, aren’t troubled by the rhetoric and influence on the country, one
founded on the ideas of freedom and equality and heavily influenced by
Christian ideals.
Sports and politics have recently intersected on the
issues of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Steelers fans cheer Ben Roethlisberger.
Yankees fans cheer Aroldis Chapman.
Some Americans are cheering the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court. Ohio State University has moved
on with Urban Meyer as the face of the institution. Whatever your opinion on each issue, the
collective message is unacceptable. Women
deserve better.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ won the first game of the ALCS
last week. During the post-game
interviews with Ryan Braun and Josh Hader, the elephants in the room were
unmistakable. Braun parlayed PED use
into a massive contract from the Brewers.
He vehemently denied the allegations in 2012; a year later he issued a
disingenuous “okay, you got me” apology. Hader, an ace reliever, once sent racist and
homophobic tweets that were discovered earlier this year. He’s sorry too, of course (at least for
getting caught). But the cheating, lying
and hate fades to the background in the glow of sweet victory! Go Brewers!
So what about all of that? A powerful theme throughout Harper Lee’s
classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” is the coexistence of good and evil (and the
eternal struggle it begets). Both are
apparent, too, in our games, our government, our institutions – in all facets
of life. It’s a sobering thought. But all isn’t hopeless – it can’t be. Our games – sports - make tremendous
contributions to society and our government, despite its flaws, remains one of
humanities best ideas. As for religion, individual
faith in something greater than “this” is at the core of just about all of them;
that’s powerful when “this” is so corrupt.
We are, as a nation, a people…a species…a work in
progress. To grow into something
greater, we share a responsibility to keep this whole thing tilted in the right
direction, at least in the aggregate if not in every instance. This demands that every person condemn evil
and spread good wherever possible, even if it’s doing something as simple as
stopping to retrieve a stranger’s lost straw.
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