The Sports Metaphor

There’s no question that sports bring us economic, social and cultural benefits. Sports also bring un-intended economic, social and cultural side effects and difficulties, beyond the bread and circuses effect, that are too often ignored, pooh-poohed, down played or actively suppressed. The sports metaphor is the most dangerous of these un-intended side-effects.

A metaphor is simply understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. For example, the seargeant barked out the order, makes us think of the seargeant as a vicious dog. Metaphors serve to facilitate the understanding of one conceptual domain, typically an abstract one like 'life' or 'theories' or 'ideas', through expressions that relate to another, more familiar conceptual domain, typically a more concrete one like 'journey' or 'buildings' or 'food'. For example, “the game of life” implyies that life is like a game, usually some kind of sport. More examples:

Food for thought: we devour a book of raw facts, try to digest them, stew over them, let them simmer on the back-burner, regurgitate them in discussions, cook up explanations, hoping they do not seem half-baked. Theories as buildings: we establish a foundation for them, a framework, support them with strong arguments, buttressing them with facts, hoping they will stand. Life as journey: some of us travel hopefully, others seem to have no direction, many lose their way.

Metaphors are colorful, exciting and thus more mememorable and have greater impact. Using a metaphor, the communicator puts ideas or objects into word containers, then sends them to a listener who takes that idea or object out of the container and makes meaning of it. The container is separate from the ideas themselves. Because metaphors can communicate a great deal of meaning with just a word or phrase, they can encourage people to reflect, think and question or they can encourage people to stop thinking and think they understand when they really don’t. For example, life as a sports game – “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”; “he who dies with the most toys, wins”. Great ways to think about living, right? About raising a family, loving your spouse, building a community?

A metaphor is a comparison that shows how two things not alike in most ways, are similar in another important way. Metaphors are pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but also in thought and action. The most powerful metaphors deal with vital, abstract difficult to communicate experiences and operate below the level of conscious thought to be accepted as Truth, unchallenged and un-critically.


The sports metaphor is a popular, powerful metaphor embeded deeply in our collective unconsious. It has some value but in most cases it reduces difficult, complex life challenges and opportunities to oversimplified cliches. Instead of encouraging people to reflect, think and question their own lives and how society is working, the sports metaphor encourages people to stop thinking and think they understand when they really don’t. Among other things, the sports metaphor, especially the glitzy glamorous big bucks pro sports metaphor, encourages people to see and experience life as a spectator sport, un-involved, watching from a distance.

For example under the dominance of the sports metaphor, democratic politics is not about actually voting, “my vote doesn’t count,” just like rooting for your team in the stadium or in front of the TV doesn’t count. It’s not about the substance of the debate or the real challenges and opportunities we need our democratically elected leaders to deal with, it’s surfacy bull shit about who’s winning and who’s losing and why. On the job for example, everyone gives lip service to team work because teamwork is critical and does matter in sports, but in real life the ‘teams’ if there are any, are not like the sports teams but more diffuse and inner directed. There is no coach and no referee and the playing field is not level. There’s only you and whatever you think God is.

Many people work real hard to make the sports metaphor reality and they feel like failures when real life intrudes. It’s not your fault real life is the way it is, no matter how much you wish it was like a pro-sports game that you could ‘win,’ (in a ‘sportsman-like’ way, of course, no cheating), claim your prize and go home victorious, it’s not that way. Life doesn’t end after the season’s over. You have to live it out moment by moment, day after day, month after month, year after year until you die. And, according to some religions, it may not even be over then, when you die.

The sports metaphor has a place, but it’s a limitted place. Wouldn’t our individual, community, national and international lives be better if we became aware of the effects the sports metaphor has on our lives, controlled for those effects, sought out and used other metaphors to deal with our challenges and opportunities? How about, “life is just a bowl of cherries”….?

Bread and Circuses

I am not a big pro sports fan. I’m not even a little pro sports fan. In fact, I think the time, energy and money invested in professional sports is criminal. Sports in school, even college, can be very valuable. I think it has a place and should be nurtured there. The trouble is, that love of sports in school, seems to mature into addiction to pro sports later in life, and schools are used as feeders for the pros. I’m aware that following sports is a way to unwind, relax, channel and release aggression. But following sports also has a dark shadow side that too often goes unnoticed and un-remarked, except by the power brokers and so-called leaders in politics and business.

The dark side can be summed up as bread and circuses, the phenomena that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. Bread and circuses. As the Roman Republic, became an Empire, Roman citizens stopped acting like citizens – stopped taking an interest in their community, stopped being actively involved in politics and in many cases even stopped working. To divert the mass of the population and keep the public’s mind off the collapse of the Republic and its values and ideals of Justice, the concentration of wealth and power and the abuses of power – the leaders of Rome gave the population bread and circuses. Bread to feed them, circuses to amuse and divert them. Arenas were built in every large town, and wheat was imported from Egypt. Once hooked, the public’s appetite for free food and entertainment grew and grew until circuses weren’t enough and bloody battles between gladiators and feeding Christians to the lions were required. As long as the elite rulers provided bread and circuses, they could do whatever they wanted. That was bread and circuses.

I thought about bread and circuses as I watched the faces of the World Cup winners and losers on the so-called news last night. Did you see the faces? The faces of the Germans whose team lost – the grief, deep sadness and actual mourning? It reminded me of the pictures of the faces in the crowds when Jack Kennedy died. Hey! I shouted at the TV screen, it’s only a game! And the winners in Madrid? Thousands and thousands of people jammed together yelling and screaming, actual tears of joy running down their cheeks? And I thought, too bad just a little of that energy and enthusiasm can’t go into saving the planet, and seizing the opportunities masquerading as the problems of poverty and injustice. Instead, all that energy is bread and circuses.

The usual response is, hey, give us a break! Those people needed something to celebrate and it also gave them a moment of national pride and unity. Oh, yeah? And what about the Germans? And all the other teams that have lost, and have you noticed the way the sports system is designed there’s always more losers than winners, that’s real healthy isn’t it - where’s the national pride and unity there? And even for the so-called winners, how long will the pride and unity last? Will it carry over into their everyday lives? Will their everyday lives be better for the ‘victory’?

It’s all a momentary diversion, bread and circuses. But, its not just ‘momentary’ any more, pro sports is a year round, heavily marketed, designed to be addictive, trillion dollar business, a constant diet of bread and circuses. And everybody’s in on it, from the President to your next door neighbor.

But think about it, what if only a small part of that energy and enthusiasm could be channeled to dealing with the real life threats and opportunities surrounding us? Only a small part; pro sports wouldn’t have to go away – much as I’d like it to, I realize that’s impossible. It’s not an either/or, zero/sum, winner-take-all thing (as the sports metaphor would have us believe), but a both/and, win/win thing. Couldn’t we do both, have sports and seize the opportunities in our seeming problems? Aren’t we capable and competent enough to do that – to figure out a way to channel a small part of all the energy and enthusiasm that goes into pro sports to dealing with the real life threats and opportunities surrounding us?

The Experience of a Moment

So, OK, let’s say we’re knowing its all good and all God and we have a serious car accident. Not only are you badly hurt, but the car is totaled. You’ll live and recover completely, but will miss lot’s of work and have to go through the whole hassle of filing an insurance claim, buying another car and keeping up with work from home. Does all this mean that you’ve pissed God off, that you’re not spiritual enough? No! You’re as spiritual now as you were before the accident, and as spiritual now, as you’re ever going to be, and there’s no way you can piss God off – at least not the real God. The ego God gets pissed off all the time and would be happy to punish you. So what do all these seeming troubles mean?

They mean we’re spiritual beings having a human experience. It is not easy, is it, Ernest Holmes wrote in SOM, to turn from trouble and disease, even when we know very well that there is no trouble and no disease in spirit, and that what we’re experiencing is only the experience of the moment.

No, its not easy to turn from trouble. The choice to turn away from that “experience of the moment,” is difficult. We all face situations so challenging that the drama claims front row center in our consciousness. It helps if we can find someone or read something or experience something that reminds us of who we really are - spiritual beings having a human experience. We have not pissed God off, we are as spiritual right now, as we will ever be. We just need to be reminded. As Katherine Saux said, “I am grateful to know that my perfection is never diminished by my human experiences of the moment, and I allow the universe to support me as I travel my life’s journey, accepting and giving help whenever it is needed.”

Suffering is Optional

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. I’ve tried to live a full life and avoid pain, but I couldn’t. Shit happens. But I have learned that suffering – dwelling on the pain, worrying about it, feeling sorry for myself, looking for a pattern and blaming myself and others, is not inevitable; it’s a choice. I suffer, but when I become aware of it, I try to let it go and ask for spirit’s help to see it differently. SOM says, “the Universe does not demand suffering! Someday [like a reformed drama queen] we shall decide we have had enough suffering.” And Hafiz, the wonderful, beautiful Sufi poet says, “All your pain, worry, sorrow will someday apologize and confess they were a great lie.” Isn’t that peacefully glorious? The “someday” Hafiz speaks of can be now. Why wait, it’s our choice - pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

But, as Katherine Saux points out in this month’s SOM Magazine, “our culture is replete with beliefs that we must suffer in order to get better.” For example, “no pain, no gain,” is one of our most popular sayings and most people believe women must suffer and sacrifice to be beautiful and that artists are supposed to suffer to be great. It’s true that challenging situations contain the potential for growth. But the growth comes when we understand that God never gave a challenge without also giving the tools and support to overcome it, if we are aware and attuned. As Ms. Saux says, as “I walk through the shadow of the Valley of Death – I don’t have to pitch a tent and linger there. I can allow myself to feel the emotions that need to be felt, then more easily lift my eyes to the power within and leave the valley for the mountain top.”

It’s all good, all god, all designed to help us wake to our reality as spirit. What is grace? St. John of the Cross, asked God. And he said, ‘All that happens.’ From my ego bound, human perspective, it too, often appears that ‘evil doers’ thrive, while goodness, Truth, Justice and the American Way – did I wish you a happy Fourth of July? And, do they have a Fourth of July in England? – are overwhelmed by darkness. But I am heartened by the idea that as Ms. Saux says, my “human understanding of how the great law of cause and effect works its way through time and space is very limited.” Besides, if God is perfect, and She is, and it’s all good, and grace is all that happens, then there’s no punishment, per se; those that do harm only face the consequences of their own actions. The key word is ‘appearances.’ I so agree with Ms. Saux when she says, “Appearances can be deceiving. It is a wonderful spiritual practice to spy God’s presence in places where appearances shout and wave their arms and point to illusion.”

Ignorance and Light

Ignorance, honest not knowing and not being exposed to facts and information, is something I sympathize with. After all, I’m ignorant of many things. But willful ignorance, choosing not to know after being exposed to facts and information, is something I do not sympathize with. And that’s putting mildly. I hate such ignorance, even fear it. Such ignorance is dangerous, it hurts people, places and things, it even hurts the poor fools who cling to it. How can things be improved if people refuse to acknowledge the possibility of alternatives and the need to improve? I despair for our ideals and our very lives if people can not be reached and helped out of their ignorance. A few ignorant people is no problem, but a majority of ignorant people drags me down, too.

I know peace and success are not about changing others, only about changing myself. I know that as Audre Lorde says, “when I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid,” but I let the ego in the form of the so-called news, drag me down. I want to use my power and God connection to see ignorance as simply meaning unaware and as I accept myself as the place where God comes to a point of individualized and personalized express, I will see others that way too, will not see ignorance as the ego sees it, and know what to do, if anything, about it.

I want to see ignorance as another opportunity to let go and let God. Surrender brings real power. As I release blame, shame and the need to control, spirit shines through me, revealing so much more than I ever could have imagined, allowing me to get my bloated nothingness out of the way of the divine circuits. As Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” acknowledging his oneness with God and light, so I too, acknowledge the light within me, knowing my faith determines the wattage and amplification of my light. Though it pisses me off, in my right mind, I know that ignorance is unawareness of this light and when I encounter ignorance it is an opportunity not only to acknowledge my oneness with the light but to seek in others. Happy Fourth of July!

Social Darwinism - Part II

Modern robber barons followed by an army of subservient media, politicians, lawyers, chambers of commerce, professional associations, educators and religious leaders use this so-called Social Darwinism that Darwin never intended, to grow rich and fat or sadly, to just barely hold their own, by sucking the life out of everyone else, especially the poor who Jesus said you will have with you always, tho he meant the poor in spirit, the poorest in spirit being the blood suckers and their sycophants.

Look around, under stress the social Darwinist economic model has delivered the worst of all worlds, a system lacking in compassion during a crisis as schools, health care and social service are the first to be cut, yet unable to deliver the resilient wealth creation it promised.

The cachet of the cutthroat supports all the wrong incentives. It rewards unscrupulous behavior. It equates profits and real wealth, allowing many to survive or become rich without generating useful goods or services. For example, health insurance companies make obscene profits by denying care rather than providing it. It encourages quick fix, surfacey, short term thinking instead of long range in depth thinking; which in turn encourages the trend to dumbing down. It makes human beings into commodities, only “hands” without hearts and minds. It emphasizes quantitative approaches over qualitative, numbers over values. Because it’s more profitable in the short run to outsource to India, entire sectors of American engineering and computer science now lack home-grown expertise. This is cashing in our seed corn, our future, the basic R&D and trained professionals we will need, but cannot be quantified on a quarterly balance sheet.

The fact is that not only does this not work, it’s wrong – it’s not what Darwin found and it’s not what current science is finding. Social Darwinism fails in practice because it never succeeded as theory. When Darwin outlined the inexorable, cold and selfish mechanism of natural selection, he didn’t know enough to be comfortable applying it to human society. But now recent work in Biology and Social Science shows that natural selection in humans and indeed animals as well, favors traits like compassion and empathy, that in robust ape communities, for example, members diligently tend to their sick and wounded. Dog eat dog behavior poisons the trust and other traits and behaviors needed for success in complex human and animal societies.

Our system’s winner take all, zero sum adversarialism has reached a disastrous endpoint: suffocated by ideological polarization, fruitless partisan bickering, stifling parliamentary obstacles and the iron grip of moneyed interest, U.S. institutional paralysis makes us incapable of tackling the fine-grained nuances of the 21st century challenges facing our nation and the world – all because we’re using the wrong theory!

American commentators across the political spectrum misleadingly cast what’s going on in crude, outmoded, irrelevant liberal and conservative terms, as if it was all some kind of sports event; while the real, necessary discussion needs to be about our mistaken belief in Spencer’s interpretation of Darwin’s work. Unfortunately, because the powers that be own the commentators and benefit from Spencer’s version of Darwin, that discussion is not likely to happen.

Social Darwinism - Part I - The Rant

Isn’t it interesting that many of those who deny that evolution is real, is more than a theory but a scientific fact that, still accept Social Darwinism as a fact? It’s been reported that only 37% of Americans believe in Evolution. Half of those probably still believe the earth is flat. God, does this burn me!

All of America’s advantages and so-called greatness and being so called #1, and only 37% believe in Evolution! To me, that is a shame! Is it any wonder we’re slipping into third world status - # 37 in education, #54 in energy efficiency, #1 in prison population, #17 in pollution, #2 in executions, #1 in gun ownership?

No doubt, this majority of unbelievers are the same people who after eight years of Republican rule now blame Obama – who’s been in power for less than two years, for the deficits and the mess the country’s in. Let’s see what eight more years of Republican control of all three branches of government will do for us! These are the people so good at ignoring facts that they chose not to know that Clinton left a budget surplus and Bush left us a huge deficit, the financial crisis and two useless and un-winnable wars. Clinton only fucked Monica Lewinski, Bush and his supporters fucked us all.

Anyhow, Social Darwinism, the idea of survival of the fittest, that nice guys finish last, dog eat dog, eat or be eaten, is gospel with most of us, but especially with the people who don’t believe in Evolution. They’re quoting, and living by ideas rooted in evolutionary theory, while denying Evolution itself. How dumb, how stupid, how real, how totally maddeningly real. Even so-called liberals in the so-called liberal media – owned and run almost exclusively for profit without much thought for humanity or community, by the likes of greedy, selfish billionaires like Rupert Murdoch, are under the sway of the cachet of the cutthroat – the idea that there’s too much coddling going on, that as Scrooge said let them die and be done with it, that institutionalized harshness generates a more productive, adaptive, and wealthy society, that liberalism is idealistic nonsense.

Well, the idea of survival of the fittest and the cachet of the cutthroat are not even Darwin’s. They are Herbert Spencer’s. He coined the phrase, “survival of the fittest” in 1864, and it has been used ever since to justify the worst abuses of capitalism: child labor, substandard wages, union busting, monopolies, no regulation of any kind, caveat emptor – buyer beware. If you thought all these rights of capital were tamed, look around you, they’re back, every one of them, bigger than ever.

Modern robber barons followed by an army of subservient media, politicians, lawyers, chambers of commerce, professional associations, educators and religious leaders use this so-called Social Darwinism that Darwin never intended, to grow rich and fat or sadly, to just barely hold their own, by sucking the life out of everyone else, especially the poor who Jesus said you will have with you always, tho he meant the poor in spirit, the poorest in spirit being the blood suckers and their sycophants.

Look around, under stress the social Darwinist economic model has delivered the worst of all worlds, a system lacking in compassion during a crisis as schools, health care and social service are the first to be cut, yet unable to deliver the resilient wealth creation it promised.