| Who's Your Daddy? | | Date Created: Oct 16, 2005, 01:22 PM |
The hot topic in the NASCAR garage - other than the non-race that took place Saturday night - was the saber-rattling from the NASCAR powers announcing they may limit the number of entries a team owner can control. It seems to be a reaction to avoid a version of the turmoil in Formula One racing and the CART/IRL split that has (perhaps permanently?) crippled open-wheel racing in America.
My immediate thoughts jumped to the theories and books by Dr. George Lakoff, a professor of lingusitics and congnitive science at the University of California, Berkely. Lakoff has written a series of books detailing the use language and the conflicting world views of conservatives and liberals. The recommended ones: Don't Think of an Elephant and Moral Politics.
The conservatives have quite brilliantly used billions of dollars over the past 40 years to develop language that frames values and political debate to obscure the real issues at hand. For instance, calling their pollution-increasing legislation "the Clean Air Act" blurs the real intent and results of the bill, and immediately defuses any opponent's ability to reframe the argument. (I did hear a hilarious counter-analysis of the act, saying the air would be cleaner because there would be very few birds left to clutter our view of the sky.)
BUT - what strikes me most about Lakoff's theories of language -- and why it fits the NASCAR mold - is the distinction of world views between conservatives and progressives.
Conservatives see the world in the Strong Father mode (a view made famous in conservative circles by James Dobson). Their world view: the world is bad. There is absolute good and evil. The end justifies the means to establish good. The strong father must teach children discipline because all children are born bad. If they fail or stumble, they must be punished. Corporal punishment is encouraged as the best way to teach obedience to the child from the strong father. Those who fail, do so because they are lazy or not obedient, and must be punished.
The current Dubya administration fits that category perfectly. It fits their domestic and foreign policies. The destruction of the Gulf Coast allows them to strike down minimum/prevailing wage laws and offer a long list of no-bid contracts to their rich buddies. This, combined with an expensive war abroad, will further drive the government into such debt they aim to axe most - if not all - social programs. Purge the undeserving, poor and lazy, and further enrich the rich and richer.
The alternative, or progressive, world view is based upon: equal strength in both parents, and to raise children with the assumption they are born good and can be made better. Nuturance is a key theme: responsibility and empathy for others is essential to improve the world, not just for one's own success, but for those in the community around them. Nurturing emphasizing communications and protection of your children and your community. (See also "Rich and Poor See Poverty Very Differently" conveniently and coincidentally from today's AP wire.)
NASCAR, just like Formula One since Bernie Eccelstone has been in power, has ALWAYS been the Strong Father model: from Big Bill France to the current day. "Do as we say or suffer the consequences. It's our ball, and if you don't like it, you can go elsewhere." Empathy and responsibility rarely, if ever, enters their thinking. (See their recent Red Cross fund campaign, where they asked fans to give, but offered not a cent of their own.)
Now, they are seemingly going against the grain by threatening their biggest and most successful children: if you're too successful, that threatens our complete control, and you must be stopped. They seem to be punishing those who have been the most successful, rather than those have failed to progress or keep up with the sport. But, no matter what the public facade, the message remains the same: obey Father, or you'll get paddled.
It's going to be very interesting to see if Father follows through on the threat to prevent (in the words of Mike Helton)"the inmates from running the prison." And, we'll see how the "Car of Tomorrow" turns out. Remember, it was built and designed by NASCAR, not by the teams or major manufacturers. It's their car. If you don't like it, go home. |
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Dario and Fontana: It was both wrenching and heartwarming to see an emotional Dario Franchitti in victory lane at Fontana Sunday afternoon. I am convinced Tony Kanaan let off the throttle to allow his teammate to win because he knew how close Dario had been with the late Greg Moore. Moore was killed in a horrific crash at Fontana in the final race of the 1999 CART season. (For more on Greg, you can review one of the first fingerprint blog entries here.) Dario's wife, Ashley Judd, wept along pit lane the afternoon Moore was killed, yet none of the drivers in the race were told of his fatal injuries until after the race. She wept again as Sunday's race neared a conclusion.
The emotions reminded me of a comment Darrell Waltrip made repeatedly while working on his "DW!" book: "Racing leaves no time to celebrate, and leaves no time to grieve..." I applaud Dario and the other drivers for showing emotions that are rarely seen or encouraged on the NASCAR side of the ball.
On a more entertaining note, it seems Danica Patrick continues to show she's not afraid to mix it up with the boys, as she had a little extra-curricular contact in the ambulance after Jaque Lazier put her into the wall late in the race.
Journeys with George: If you've considered a career move to become a reporter or politician, check out the DVD Journeys with George. It's one woman's behind-the-scenes documentary as an NBC producer spending an entire year in the press corp with the 2000 Dubya presidential campaign. It's an entertaining lil' film, but I'm confident you'd choose another line of work after seeing the bone- and spirit-crushing tedium of the campaign trail.
Keep up with the new: The Word Spy. It works for us. |
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And, if you're interested in the sphere of influence of your city - or your local/regional pro sports team - check out a new internet project called Commoncensus Map Project. The creator of the site has assured me NASCAR will be his next sports entry.
Gadget Man: I'm always being teased about being the owner of all the latest and greatest electronic gadgets. (Which may be a big reason for the troubled social life.) But, here's a new twist in gizmos: suggestions to add electronics as a part of breast implants. They could measure things like blood pressure... or maybe an MP3 player?
Renault Won the Drivers and Manufacturers Championships in F1: So, they celebrate in song. Click on the "sound" section on the right column. But I preferred Alonso's version, sung from the cockpit immediately after winning Sunday's race. |
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