Sports, the new opiate of the people

[nadinbrzezinski]

Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2012, 09:22 PM - Edit history (2)

Yup...

Just heard this on Current.

But reality is...people who love sports and fanatically follow LeBron James, nothing wrong with that...don't know jack of what goes on in the country and affects their lives.

This is not everybody, not by far...but we have all met friends or relatives, or both...who can regale you with stats...ask them about the ACA...go ahead...you know this and I know this. This is a perfect description.

(On tv...tell me when was the last time you heard this from a talking head? Quite frankly don't remember)

[malaise]

1. New?

Old news

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. What is new

Is hearing it on the tv.

[malaise]

4. LOL

That's been in text books for decades

[zappaman]

6. OP just learned something

and is being kind enough to share it with us.
She pretty much knows it all, so if this is news to her, then surely it is news to us.

[malaise]

12. Not funny

She was 100% correct re the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan.
Give it a rest,

[zappaman]

15. Hmmmm...my bad.

I think I missed that although I do recall something about stockpiling milk?

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. When was the last time you heard an actual

Talking head say that on tv? I frankly, don't.

[AnnieBW]

14. "Bread and Circuses"

Ever hear the term "Bread and Circuses"? Well, the "circus" wasn't the Ringling Brothers type. It was chariot races. The people had no bread, so the Romans gave them chariot races instead.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Do you remember a talking head saying this on tv?

Oh about the NCAA for example...I don't

We may all speak of this...but..

[Rosa Luxemburg]

69. No

However I don't watch too much TV

[nadinbrzezinski]

71. That's why it caught my attention

Mind you, that was Current, so it almost be like it was never said due to actual reach.

[dogknob]

13. I Never Played The Game

Howard Cosell bit the hand that fed him a looooong time ago. Great Book!

http://books.google.com/books/about/I_Never_Played_the_Game.html?id=FCzrQsrHvd0C

[zappaman]

2. I love sports

and when it comes to knowledge of what goes on in this country and how it affects my life, I bet I could run circles around you....mentally and physically.
Seriously, what an inane blanket statement.

[yoyossarian]

28. Dude, if you're that aware of your environment...

...then surely you musta noticed the many MANY moronic numbskull sports-heads surrounding you in any given stadium on any given Sunday, who know little or NOTHING else...
I've known quite a few gear-heads who were pretty smart... then again, being a gear-head means being engaged with something--in this case auto mechanics--which is so much different than simply being a passive fan of sports.
And yes, I've known a lot of intelligent people who are into sports--though rarely to the sort of excess exhibited by most hardcore fans, who watch literally HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of games EVERY YEAR, often obsessively...
MOST of the fans, it seems to me from my rather distant perch nowadays, thankfully, are probably of the same sort of intelligence as your average NASCAR fans... and if that's your sort of peeps, great; but they're NOT known for their political acumen; they have so little room in their little memories, apparently, for facts about the world around them, having stuffed themselves full of sports statistics and buffalo wings, that they usually can't name the VP--or even if they can, they sure can't SPELL the name. Hell, most of 'em can't spell VP!
If you're a truly intelligent and engaged sports enthusiast, you are in an elite minority, m'friend... at least in my experience.
My hat's off to you!

[zappaman]

31. I disagree.

When I get together with people, the top 2 topics are always politics and sports.
Are there some idiots who think they know everything about sports and no nothing about politics? Sure.
Just as there are some idiots who think they know everything about politics and no nothing about sports.
The OP is ridiculous.

[dogknob]

33. Comparing politics to sports, or even mentioning them in the same sentence, is absurd.

Sports is A GAME.

Politics is most definitely not a game, but many people treat it like it is... until they lose their job/house/rights...

I'm not saying that's you necessarily, but way too many people treat politics like something they can change the channel on if they don't like the score.

[JNelson6563]

56. Politics is a blood sport.

You should try it sometime. It's brutal but challenging. And if you win you can affect positive change for millions.

But it ain't for the feint of heart.

Julie

[frylock]

74. sports is A BUSINESS

[malaise]

52. If the OP is ridiculous why is this topic part of sports curricula in universities?

There is empirical evidence on the subject.

[Upton]

53. No offense..

but do you have any idea how often you use the term "empirical evidence"??

You use something too much..it loses any meaning..

[malaise]

55. Knowledge =

inferences and generalizations based on empirical evidence.

[bongbong]

78. Politics

There are two types of political knowledge:

1) stuff from Fox "news"
2) reality

Just because somebody can spew political talk for hours doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. Polls show people who listen to Fox "news" know less about politics than people who listen to no news at all.

[2on2u]

5. New.... well, sort of....

[snot]

7. Not new. Noam Chomsky identified this in those exact words long ago.

See the movie about his work, "Manufacturing Consent," which I think came out in the early 90's.

If people knew as much about voting records as they do about players' stats, we'd be in a different country.

Bread and circuses.

[malaise]

21. Isn't that the truth

I always loved that quote

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. New on tv

[zappaman]

24. "New on TV"?

WTF?
the OP is "Sports, the new opiate of the people".

[snot]

40. And apparently new to some DU'er's, so worth repeating –

Thanks!

[MrSlayer]

8. I follow the NHL and the NFL very closely.

And I know all about politics too. It's possible to know about many things simultaneously.

Your post is kind of dumb.

[zappaman]

9. I bet you can chew gum and walk at the same time too!

Me too!

[BeyondGeography]

10. I know a ton of liberal sports nuts

Sometimes, it was one of the few things that kept us feeling good about this country (think the NBA during Reagan). At least before sports got goofy like everything else that involves money.

Anyway, what you're really saying is you don't "get" sports.

[Upton]

11. Sure..people into sports don't know a damn thing..

your post makes little sense.....it's as if you're being "willfully ignorant"

[malaise]

23. Of course there are liberals and leftists who know sports and also know

politics but empirical evidence shows that the average man knows more about his sports team than he does about labor issues, debt, or most issues that affect his life.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Did I say all?

When did some equal all?

[Lex]

16. Hahahaa--at the "new" part of that!

[thelordofhell]

17. You're Wrong

The Internet is the new opiate of the masses

[11 Bravo]

18. Ask me about the ACA. Then ask me about UNC basketball, Redskins football ...

or Washington Nationals baseball. You may be stunned to find that I can discuss each of then with equal facility. I love you nadin, but trust me, sports fans can be not only progressive, but we also have opposable thumbs.

[zappaman]

19. One of those things is not like the others

UNC over Georgetown?

[taterguy]

36. Who was the MVP in the first game in the Dean Dome?

No Googling.

[11 Bravo]

37. i don't know. If it was Len Bias, I'm going to be pissed.

The time frame is about right, and I remember him lighting us up.

[taterguy]

51. Steve Hale, torched the Dookies for 28

Tickets were being scalped for the price of a semester's tuition.

Kudos to you for not Googling since I would have had no way of knowing.

[Odin2005]

20. New? Tell that to the Romans.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. New on the tv from a talking head

Kind of like when Cicero coined the term.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. Bread and circuses. Now it's Doritos and sports.

Entertainment sells and keeps the people fat and happy....until they run out of bread or Doritos and get bored with the entertainment.

[tkmorris]

26. It's not sports

There are vast legions of people out there who don't know a damned thing about politics, or really anything you or I might consider important. Do you know why?

Because they don't bloody well care, that's why.

Sure, they may know a lot about sports, but they are as likely to know a lot about American Idol, or fashion trends, or pop music, or about a hundred other topics. Everyone fills their head with SOMETHING, but your mistake is in believing that if one chooses to follow sports or what have you it is to the exclusion of anything else.

I would hazard a guess that you are an expert on some topic or another that I couldn't possibly care less about. Does that mean you don't know anything that I DO think is important? Of course not. Likewise, I can tell you the starting lineups of every team in the Champion's League knockout stages last year, why Man U will not win the EPL this coming season, and why the LA Galaxy continue to struggle despite a line-up featuring Robbie Keane, David Beckham, and Landon Donovan. Do you care? I doubt it, but that's OK because that isn't ALL I know. I know a fair bit about electronics, computer hardware and software, physics, astronomy, science fiction, and about a thousand other things INCLUDING politics and current events.

You don't like sports, I get it, but blaming people's ignorance on topics you do care about because they happen to have an interest in one you don't is at best a fallacy and at worse being deliberately obtuse.

[BOG PERSON]

27. i would personally rather have a conversation

w/ a person who regales me w/ stats, or who loathes lebron james or w/e. most of the "political" people i know are tedious and self-important

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. LOL!

The op is te... ted... tediou... tedious, and that other phrase you mentioned too!

[RC]

59. Says a person whose favorite group is "Socialist Progressives" on a political web site.

So many smilies fit, which ones do I pick...

[BOG PERSON]

64. i meant a person IRL (in real life)

in case that wasnt clear

otherwise, like you say, what would i be doing posting on a political message board?

[meow2u3]

35. Reality shows are the new opiate of the people, not just sports

eom

[2ndAmForComputers]

39. I apologize for not accepting that having hobbies is a bad thing.

I also apologize for insisting that a human mind can easily contain comprehensive sport stats along with sensible political awareness and still have lots of free space for other things like, for instance, sarcasm. Silly me.

[fishwax]

41. I think there's some truth to it ... but then it's also true that people who *don't* follow sports

also don't know jack of what goes on in this country and affects their lives. Not all, of course, as you said. But all things considered, I'm not convinced (based on people I've known and interacted with) that people who don't like sports are better informed than people who do like sports.

That said, though, I think there are truths to the sentiment. Sports is one (of many) pursuits that can diffuse and distract the creative and resistant energies of the multitude. (Not that it has to be that way ...)

[bhikkhu]

42. The enjoyment of sports is a very human habit

...and I'd have to disagree pointedly with the statement: "people who love sports and fanatically follow LeBron James, nothing wrong with that...don't know jack of what goes on in the country and affects their lives".

People are complex. They commonly have more than one interest and more than one focus, and a variety of experiences. Few grow up without participating in some sport or other, and most, in later age, follow some sport or other. I don't think there is any direct relation between sports and one's self-knowledge, politics (or lack thereof) or knowledge of current events.

My focus is cycling, which I follow more or less closely - though I never seem to have the time to watch more than the highlights of races. My own healthy choice is to spend more time doing the sport than watching the sport.

[opiate69]

43. I'll thank you to not take my name in vain.

[HuckleB]

44. It's not sports that is the opiate, it's the soap opera television version of sports.

Heck, I'm a soccer supporter, and most of my political discussions occur with other soccer supporters, all of whom are incredibly informed, and many of whom are seriously involved in advocacy, protest, etc...

On edit, couldn't you make the same claim about people who love "The Hunger Games," watch Oprah, watch TV more than an hour a day, etc...?

[ErikJ]

45. The Iroquois played lacrosse instead of having wars.

Maybe someday here too?

[hay rick]

46. Sports, real housewives, msm "news"...

Lots of opiate out there.

I know a handful of guys who are knowledgeable about sports and also have an informed opinion on politics. I also know a handful of people who are well-informed on politics but almost entirely ignorant of sports. Sadly, I know many, many more who are knowledgeable about sports but mostly ignorant about politics.

The frustration is that their detailed understanding of sports demonstrates that these people are capable of paying close attention to a subject and understanding a lot of nuance and complexity. They use that ability to appreciate and understand sports but don't use it to gain an understanding of their society. It's their choice and our culture makes it an easy choice- but then we all pay the price because democracy ceases to have value when the electorate is uninformed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. Which was the point commentator made on current

It was on NCAA and joe paterno and all that. But it was relevant...and I perked my ears. We make those same arguments, in academia, the boards...but tv?

It was good.

[Sherman A1]

48. It would be a far better world if sports

were assigned to a place as a diversion instead of the high level of importance which they seem to have in our lives. Every night we find our local news broadcast given at least a third of their air time to the discussion of area sports and it's beyond absurd to provide them with this level of importance or free advertising.

[Shankapotomus]

49. I wouldn't say sports fans

neccessarily know less about politics but I do think, to a certain extent, they subconsciously accept a competative orientation that can give one the false premise that life is a zero sum game and prep them for seeing relationships with others as interactions between winners and losers with no room for cooperation to mutual benefit. If I wanted to prep the young mind for war, I would use the analogy of competative sports.

Of course, as an adult many can separate real life from sports. But, as we all see in the many sports analogies made by republican politicians and the predominance of republican politians who were ex-professional athletes, many can not.

As for myself, as I've gotten older and wiser, I have really soured on competative sports because I feel so manipulated watching/caring about it. Why should I care so much about the outcome of a game? There is definately psychological manipulation going on behind sports and the commercialized/money factor just makes it more obvious. They want you to stay interested in the outcome of a game and the feats of different players for the commercials in between. So I think that does illustrate a certain degree of gulability in the typical sports fan who is not conscious that these manipulations are going on.

[JonLP24]

50. I've known a lot of non-sport fans

who didn't know jack about what it is going on in politics or what is going on in the world. They had their distractions but the most consistent thing is they don't follow the news. If they aren't watching sports, they probably won't watch the news (or go online to read trusted sources).

Sports are indicative of people who have some free time & some "extra" income to spend on games. Nothing more, nothing less.

[trumad]

54. I call bullshit---to the talking head who said it.

Been a sports fan for over 40 years---

Nothings changed--- so to call this "new" is rather ignorant.

I can pretty much guarantee the talking head never played sports and was always the last guy picked in pick up games.

Ax to grind in mho.

[mathematic]

57. Not this again.

Athletic participation and competition are fundamental elements of human experience. I'd sooner believe that music or art is the new "opiate of the people". A saying that goes back to ancient greece is "A sound mind and a sound body". Physical and mental health are both important. Sports are great for both.

Furthermore, I reject the way the phrase, "opiate of the people", is used. There is nothing wrong about being content with your life. Who am I to tell a person they should be agitated by political issues I find important? There's a big gap between telling people about the importance of an issue and telling them they're somehow brainwashed, manipulated, lack agency, or similar because they don't prioritize their interests a certain way.

Being politically engaged isn't about knowing the details of ACA or any other laws. All you need to do is know where you stand on basic principles and issues, determine which candidate most closely matches those principles, and go out and vote for him or her. Additionally, I think a lot of people kid themselves about their knowledge of issues. Even most "informed" people have nothing more than a talking points understanding of things.

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. I suggest you trash the thread

Or find out why he is right. Nobody is saying stop all sports..by all means participate and all that.

The fanatism though is a means of control...

Tell me, do you know many fanatics who will follow only the Boston Symplony, and go riots to defend it's honor? I don't know a one.

[mathematic]

62. Why trash the thread?

When I can trash the sophomoric caricature of society it presents?

Now you're on about the fanaticism of sports. If fanaticism is a means of control then, by your use of the terms, wouldn't politics be the ultimate opiate of the masses? Nothing inspires and cultivates fanatics like the thought of determining how other people live their lives. Nevermind that if you name any human endeavor that many people care about then I or somebody else can point to examples of fanaticism. Yes, that includes music, your example of Boston's wealthier residents notwithstanding.

Mixed Metaphor Programming Note:
Opiates do not make you fanatical. Opiates might make you yielding or complacent but they do not make you controllable. They are strong pain killers that put their users in la-la land. Perhaps you mean that sports are the cocaine of the masses. Though I guess if you said that you wouldn't be able to glom onto the reputation and credibility of Marx.

[nadinbrzezinski]

77. Well, this was recognized a few Millenia ago

By a little known man called Cicero...when he wrote about this, he was also riidiculed...

So I guess the guy on the tv machine who dared go there is in extremely good company.

Good bye.

[MadHound]

58. Naw, sorry, the new opiate is the computer, the smart phone,

The Xbox. That is the new opiate, and it is driving us crazy.

[SidDithers]

61. Stochastic opiate...nt

Sid

[Alduin]

63. I'm going to agree with this.

It's amazing how obsessed our society is about sports. People know more about sports stats then they do about anything else and it's pathetic.

Look at the collegiate system in this country. Many colleges prefer to pump money into their sports teams while they cut money from academic programs. Hell, the football team at my school sucks, but they're getting a new stadium while the geology and aviation programs got cut. There's something not right about that.

[reflection]

65. Opiates are the new opiate.

Half the people I interact with on a daily basis are viked to the gills, I'd bet on it.

Sports? Old news.

Good OP though, never hurts to nudge people to wake up and start paying attention.

[opiate69]

66. I am not!!

[reflection]

68. Me neither!

I'm Perc'ed to the gills. I don't do that low-end opiate trash.

[crimson77]

67. I call B.S

I can talk for hours about the Red Sox,Bruins, Celtics and Patriots. I can also talk to you for hours about politics,trust me I find the double shift a hell of alot more interesting to talk about then some idiotic policy intiative that we put forth. Am I some sort of barbarian because I like to laze around my apartment on Sunday drinking beer and eating pizza with my friends. I think I'm pretty cultured in many respects, just last weekend I spent the day at the Gardner Museum and night at the Sox.

As for ACA, I hope that the plans help millions of people as it gets instituted but 85% of the American have health insurance. So forgive me if I'm not reading all 2000 pages by candlelight, Nancy Pelosi couldn't even be bothered to read it, why should I?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. Many voters know more about politics than I know about football

and that's not a lot

[Populist_Prole]

72. You are all too correct, I see this all too often

I'm surrounded every day by people who are unabashedly ignorant of any other subject other than sports, or some other pop-culture BS. The ones I can have an intelligent conversation with are few and far between. Myself and a few others ( even others who posted on this thread ) often muse the same thoughts: If these sports fanatics were to engage their minds being well read and politically aware to the same degree they apply to sports or other "bread & circus" pursuits, it would turn politics on its head. The GOP would evaporate like a fart in the wind.

[brindis_desala]

73. This is an important issue

But the OP is poorly framed. What underlies our sports obsession is a value system based on competition. Unless the university can best its rivals out on the field, the classroom starves. Competitive sport comports with our ideal of the 'self-made' man. For most of our history it was only through sports that some poor ghetto boy or girl could attempt the widely promulgated, mythical conceit of Horatio Algier. Most importantly, those sports that worship aggression are indispensable for those who profit from empire. For many of us, winning isn't everything; it is the only thing.

[DisabledDem]

75. I'm deeply sure many sport fans also pay attention to politics too.

[gopiscrap]

76. We also give criminal sports personalities a pass on their behaviour

til it is so bad as to enrage the entire population.

[AngryOldDem]

79. I deeply apologize for enjoying sports, as well as entertainment of any kind.

I'll go sit in a dark room now and ruminate about national and world affairs. God knows there can be no levity in life.

Honest to Christ, just when I think I've read it all here.

[deaniac21]

80. Obama is a huge basketball fan.

[nadinbrzezinski]

81. Let me help you with the reading comprehension

This is not everybody, not by far...but we have all met friends or relatives, or both...who can regale you with stats...ask them about the ACA...go ahead...you know this and I know this. This is a perfect description.