Our shameful politics are tearing us apart. We need baseball. Now.
To the people negotiating the return of baseball: You cannot fail. We are desperate for the things that bind Americans together because we are increasingly horrified by the politics and resentment tearing us apart.
We need our national soundtrack now more than ever. We need bat cracks, mitt pops and the satisfying “whoosh” of a hard slide into second base. Crowd murmurs and roars, even if they are piped in for awhile. Announcers begging a long fly ball to stay fair, and loud umpires bellowing “strike three!” when a pitcher paints the black with a cracking fastball.
We need baseball. Now. The alternative background noise is presently appalling, with the dumb and grotesque dominating our televisions.
Name-calling and rumor spreading
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the American president “morbidly obese.” The president is shamefully tweeting about the tragic death of a young woman — without regard for her family — because he’s mad at a TV host. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has turned himself into a walking 23andMe kit by telling black people they aren’t actually black unless they vote for him.
Protesters in Frankfort, Kentucky, hung an effigy of Gov. Andy Beshear with a sign reading, “Sic semper tyrannis,” the words shouted by the traitorous coward John Wilkes Booth after shooting Abraham Lincoln.
Unreasonable media voices have proved themselves more interested in shading the truth of state-by-state responses in order to score political points rather than simply reporting the facts.
Our politics and the information ecosystem that surrounds it is just plain awful. We can’t watch this with our children. We can barely stand to watch it by ourselves.
Baseball gives us something to root for
Americans have endured tremendous hardship in this pandemic. Over 100,000 reported COVID-19 deaths, millions are suddenly out of work, and the economy is littered with the shattered dreams of small business owners who never imagined their life’s ambition would be wiped out by a coronavirus from China.
Our nation needs relief, not rank stupidity and hideousness. We need comfort and a sense of common purpose. We need to believe brighter days are ahead because America won’t leave anyone behind. We need something to root for.
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Baseball brought us back together after 9/11. And it can bring us back again. I still get chills thinking of President George W. Bush firing a strike at Yankee Stadium.
Americans aren’t shy about debates or hard-fought campaigns. We don’t mind vigorous disagreement. We appreciate a good zinger from the politicians we support and begrudgingly respect it when the other side gets in its own good shot.
But does this campaign seem like one we will collectively relish? It’s only May, and the back-and-forth is already too ugly and base for the gravity of the decisions that await the next commander in chief. Six more months of only this? No, thank you.
Pray the baseball negotiators succeed this week. Money seems to be the sticking point (isn’t it always?), but my God print whatever it takes to get these guys on the field! We’ve spent $2.4 trillion on coronavirus relief so far. How much do we need to get major and minor league baseball going right now? Whatever the number is would be well worth it.
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I am optimistic there will be a deal because the alternative for baseball would be so damaging to the game’s future, neither the players nor the owners can allow it. We need Jobu and Jesus Christ to come together on this one, folks, much as they did once for the fictional Cleveland Indians.
I hope someone reminds baseball’s bean counters and player representatives what the game really means to America. That a nation in need of something positive and thrilling needs home runs. That a nation in need of hope needs a game built on hope, which springs eternal. In baseball and in America, there is always a chance.
And baseball, with its full nine innings and steady pace, is a uniquely communal experience, encouraging conversations and comfortable silence amid the familiar low hum of a stadium and the shouts of “hot dogs” and “cold beer here.” Though the season will be shorter this year, the moment that fans are again able to discuss the standings each day will restore the pulse of a public yearning for cheerful statistics.
Our politics will remain ugly for the rest of the year. But something better will hopefully replace it soon on our television screens. Crisp white uniforms. Green grass. Brown dirt. And the reds and blues and oranges and blacks and yellows of our favorite team logos worn by players of all races and creeds and geography.
America needs its beautiful baseball. Now more than ever.
Scott Jennings is a Republican adviser, CNN political contributor and partner at RunSwitch Public Relations. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottJenningsKY. This column originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal.
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ugly politics are tearing us apart. We need baseball now
