Tue - November 2, 2004

Wed - September 22, 2004

Fri - August 6, 2004

Lady Liberty opens again this week, but what about France?

This week the statue of liberty opened to visitors for the first time since 9/11. This is a good time to remember what this icon means and who gave it to us.

The Statue of Liberty is an amazingly beautiful and symbolic icon for America. This week the news media was quick to cover its re-opening after being closed for security reasons after 9/11. What they didn't cover was the hypocrisy exhibited by conservatives who claim to love the Statue, yet decried the French and started a wave of anti-France hatred across the US.

I grew up in, worked and lived in Orange County, California for most of my life. I've heard people sitting next to me in my office calling the French people cowards. When the war with Iraq broke out in 2003, these same people stood around the big screen in our demo room, cheering as the bombs dropped on Baghdad. Shortly after that, the owners of a popular Orange County amusement park Knott's Berry Farm changed the name of their french fries to "Freedom fries", which remains to this day.

It got worse. Around this time, French owned hotels like the Sofitel chain in New York removed their French flags from their hotels after threats were waged on hotel employees and ownership (http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/13/news/companies/sofitel/).

I went to Las Vegas and was shocked to see that the PARIS hotel, designed from the ground up to make you feel like you're walking around the beautiful city streets in France, had removed ALL of its French flags and replaced them with American flags. Don't get me wrong, I love Old Glory as much as anyone, but this knee-jerk reaction was ridiculous. Most people visiting the "Paris" hotel are Americans looking for a European feeling when they walk through the doors. Seeing nothing but US flags all over the hotel was bizarre. I've no idea if they ever put the French flags back after the threats died down.

Web sites sprang up promoting all out boycotts of French products:
http://boycottfrenchproducts.org/

http://www.francesucks.com/
http://www.doyourpart.us/france.htm
http://www.i-hate-france.com/boycott.html
http://www.kmike.com/country/BoycotFrenchProducts.htm
http://www.warroom.com/iraqiwar/frengermboycott.htm
http://www.classbrain.com/artfree/publish/article_142.shtml
...and the list goes on, and on and on...

You would think with all that the Statue of LIberty means to us, that we would have more respect for our ally, France. Is it any wonder some French people have a real problem with the U.S.? I mean they give us the most recognizable symbol for America and we repay them by throwing a hissy fit because they won't play ball with an unwarranted, fabricated, unilateral invasion of a sovereign muslim nation? What's wrong with Americans who hate France? It's so ignorant and it's embarrassing.

So the next time you hear that people are boycotting French products, or the next time someone says "France Sucks", remind them that LADY LIBERTY WAS A GIFT FROM FRANCE! The very symbol of our welcoming nation, and the icon of the freedoms we hod so dear to our hearts was a GIFT from TRAITORS! Maybe we should give it back. Would that make the "freedom fries" crowd feel better?

Posted at 11:25 PM    

Tue - August 3, 2004

God Bless America at the Baseball Game

The week of 9/11 they could've played anything and we'd have all stood up and sang. Three years later, it's time to give the singing of "God Bless America" a much needed rest during our national pastime.

Baseball is my favorite sport. I love its long history, the challenges it has weathered, its perseverance, its unparalleled ability to blend complexity of statistics with the simplicity of a warm day in the sunshine eating peanuts and watching a near perfect game. However, I have to be honest with you and say that in 2004 baseball has a serious problem. I'm sick of "God Bless America" at the ballgame. It was a stupid idea to begin with for the following reasons:

a.) Whose "God" are we asking to bless this country anyway? I mean, isn't this "our God is better than your God" stuff what got us in trouble with the terrorists to begin with? It's certainly been a huge problem for Israel and Palestine. For crying out loud, even after 9/11 we've got Christian missionaries over there in the middle-east trying to convert Muslims to Christianity and we're sitting here in the U.S. smugly reinforcing our worship of "our" God by mentioning him at baseball games? I've got a news flash: America doesn't have just ONE God. We are one of the few nations that equally respects all religions. Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Jewish, Paganism, Atheism...ALL ARE WELCOME AND EQUAL HERE IN AMERICA (for those of you still clinging to a "one God" perspective, go here: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/nam/). Despite successful attempts by religious supremacists and misguided, self-proclaimed but well intentioned "patriots" in the U.S. to inject "God"into everything from our currency to the Pledge of Allegiance, this nation's forefathers chose their words carefully when they said we are all endowed by our "Creator" with inalienable rights. Not to get too far off track here but they chose words VERY carefully and God doesn't appear anywhere in our Constitution and with good reason. The whole idea of mentioning God over a P.A. system during MLB games is nutty and dangerous from the start.

b.) It takes too much time. Isn't baseball already considered too long by many? Personally, I love this game and I could watch for 4-5 hours without thinking twice. Take me out to the ballgame is a little quirky but fun and for visitors from other countries it provides an added thing to talk about at games, but jeez, GET ON WITH THE GAME already. ONE SONG IS ENOUGH!

c.) It's insulting to IMPLORE me to stand, remove my cap, and participate in asking God to bless my country when I am an atheist and there are millions of others who don't practice Christianity who are also asked to sing if they are in attendance at the game. It's a tricky song because it also pays homage to America, which we all love, but it does so with a religious overtone that is distasteful to me and countless others.

d.) It smacks of the kind of "Rah! Rah!" fair-weather patriotism that people exhibited by putting a flag on their car to prove they hate terrorists and love America, despite the fact that they're driving in America and mostly Americans are the ones reading their bumper sticker anyway. This kind of action, like the singing of God Bless America in the 7th inning, doesn't prove anything nor does it test one's patriotism. You want to prove you care about America and you hate the terrorists? Buy a hybrid car instead of that gas guzzling SUV that's the size of a bus and keeps Saudi Arabia in business 24/7.

e.) It places those who do not participate in singing this song in an awkward position by applying peer pressure from those in surrounding seats who are Christians. I have been shouted at and insulted by people at games because I don't participate in this charade. This is America and I should not have to feel threatened at a ball game because I won't lock-step with Christians in their salute to God and America. It is inappropriate and this kind of pressure tactic to enforce Godliness has no place at the ballpark!

Yankee Stadium sings God Bless America EVERY game. To this day, I won't set foot in Yankee Stadium until this practice has ended. I also do not attend Sunday games or holidays, which are when the rest of the MLB engages in this lunacy. I don't care if the majority of people think it's cool or not. If the majority of America decided they should torch a mosque in protest of 9/11, would you go along with them? Of course not. Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Unlike other fads like pet rocks or cabbage patch dolls, this one puts intense pressure on those who don't want to participate and just want a good day of baseball action. When is MLB going to end this ridiculous action, which forces people to participate for fear of peer pressure or possible assault?

Baseball shouldn't have ANYTHING that acts a divisive tool as this does, or can easily be offensive as this is.

Here some solutions that I hope MLB will take very seriously:

First, If you insist everyone stand and remove caps for a second song in the 7th inning stretch there is only one choice: The Star Spangled Banner (our National Anthem). I'll stand proudly for that EVERY time you want to play it and so should most Americans. Although, the full version does contain reference to God, about 99% of America doesn't know the last half of the song exists so it's just fine "as-is" in its current, most often sung form. Thankfully we also don't have to sing the full version of "Take me out to the Ball Game" because the rest of that song is nearly impossible to memorize and far too hard to sing for most people.

Second, If you still insist on proving to the world that MLB has patriotic war-loving, arse-kicking mojo with a tune from America's vaults, try these instead:

"This is My Country"
"This Land is Your Land"
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
"The Stars and Stripes Forever"
"Yankee Doodle"
"You're a Grand Old Flag"
"My Country 'tis of Thee" (although Brits and Germans may not like this one because it's the same melody as both "God Save the Queen" and "Heil Dir im Siegerkranz"

You see how messy this gets when you start tampering with over 100 years of baseball tradition? I know there are people out there who will call me anti-Christian (I'm not), anti-religion (also not true), or much worse (to which you would likely also be completely wrong). To you I say, "lighten up". Let the extra song go. Really, it's time. Just as it did when it began racial integration, inter-league play and the designated hitter rule, the sport will endure without God Bless America in the 7th inning, I promise you that much.

Posted at 01:04 AM