SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
March 22, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 3/28/23
In this edition:
*Opening Day!
*Rooting Interests
*Skip the Bottled Water
*RIP Bottle Bill
*Pancake Day
*Agape Café 30th Anniversary
*Did You Know?
*Opening Day!
March 30 is Opening Day! Even if one is not a baseball fan, there is a wonderful rebirth that happens every year with Opening Day. Like so many things we associate with spring, a new baseball season is a fresh start. Every team is 0-0, with an opportunity to do great things. Once again, there is hope. And we all need that!
I hope your team (however you wish to define it!) has a “dream season” this summer!
*Rooting Interests
As many of you know, I love sports. I try to downplay that when it comes to Salvos, however. You have many better sources for your sports opinions and information.
But following last week’s big upsets in college sports, I thought it was worth writing about a few things. As you may have heard, #1 seed Purdue and #2 seed Arizona lost in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Closer to home, 3x NCAA champion wrestler Spencer Lee was upset in his quest for a fourth title.
This type of thing happens on occasion. In my mind, it is a big part of why I enjoy sports; the underdog pulling off the upset. But what seems different to me is the vitriol fans are expressing toward those who lost.
I saw and heard many Hawkeye fans who really rubbed it in the face of Purdue fans following their loss. They were really enjoying Purdue’s pain – too much, if you ask me. Ironically, a few hours later, it was a Purdue wrestler who spoiled Lee’s season. Fans from all over the country were not kind to Lee or Iowa.
I get it; I often root for the underdog, and I am often happy when they win. But the desire to really rub it in the faces of the opponent – to really take pleasure in their pain - that seems new. I’m afraid it is just another piece of the evolution of American culture over the past ten years. And not a good piece.
What are we to make of this malevolence? It can’t be good. Pretty much every major theology has prohibitions against such behavior. “Do unto others” and “Love thy enemy” from Christianity comes to mind. The Hindu notion of Karma, obviously, warns against this type of thinking.
Unfortunately, Americans seem to be more malevolent than in our recent past. So where can we look for answers? Interestingly, I think we can turn right back to sports for a good example.
When I was in college, I had a number of friends who wrestled for Coach Gable. Some were incredibly successful. It was always interesting to me how athletes whose teams had been bitter rivals ended up being friends. Not everyone, obviously, but more often than not. So why was this?
My friends had the opportunity to travel all over the world competing for the USA. Often, the countries they visited were not friendly with the US - Iran, Cuba, and the former USSR, just to name a few. During these trips, the athletes began to change their mindsets. It was no longer Iowa versus Oklahoma State. It was the USA versus the world. Their former opponents were now their teammates and countrymen.
Somehow, we need a similar change in mindset. We are so divided – red versus blue – that we need to somehow see the bigger picture.
There is an interesting story from the 1980s. Ronald Reagan was hosting Mikhail Gorbachev, and the two men were talking about nuclear weapons. Each man had the ability to end life on earth as we know it. There is pretty much nothing on earth with higher stakes. The discussions were not going well. A couple of Reagan’s advisors felt that the two men needed a break; perhaps they could just take a walk and change the subject.
Reagan’s wife Nancy and Gorbachev’s wife Raisa were both very interested in astrology, tarot cards, UFOs, seances, and the like. National Security personnel in both countries were terrified by this; they were afraid that one or both of the wives would convince their husbands to act based upon some type of “sign.”
So, as the two men walked, speaking through interpreters, Reagan said, “Do you believe there is life on other planets?” Gorbachev was caught off guard, but responded that according to the laws of probability, it was likely. Reagan then asked, “If we were attacked by aliens, would you come to our aid?” Gorbachev did not hesitate, and replied, “Of course. We would defend the human race.”
When the two men sat back down, everything seemed different. Suddenly, the two men were less American and Soviet, more members of the human race. The way they defined themselves had become more inclusive. And the results were positive.
Like USA wrestlers and like Reagan and Gorbachev, we need to somehow broaden the view of who is “us.” It is much harder to act malevolently to someone from your tribe. So we need to try to make the tribes larger. Let’s root for the human race!
*Skip the Bottled Water
It takes 47 million barrels of oil to produce the 4 billion pounds of plastic water bottles used each year. 47 million barrels of oil is enough to fuel 1 million cars for a year. (Source: Physicians for Social Responsibility.)
It is easy to default to bottled water. I am sometimes guilty of it, too. But please try to avoid wasting all that plastic. We all need to do our part.
*RIP Bottle Bill
One of the many casualties of Republicans in the Iowa Legislature this year was Iowa’s Bottle Bill.
The law required consumers to pay an extra 5 cents per container, and required businesses to redeem the containers. It had a tremendously positive impact on cleaning up Iowa’s environment.
Interestingly, the original Bottle Bill passed in the mid-70s through a Republican House and Republican Senate, and was signed by a Republican Governor. Though there was not unanimous support, there was bipartisan support. Like much of the Bob Ray era in Iowa, it was a “good government” initiative.
Iowa’s Bottle Bill remained popular to the bitter end. Most Iowans approved of the positive impact it has had on reducing litter, pollution, and landfill waste. So why is it that Republicans killed it?
The answer is really pretty simple. Today’s GOP legislators no longer work for Iowans. They work for a few well-financed, far-right special interests.
I support the reinstatement and expansion of the Bottle Bill. It was good for Iowa in the ‘70s-early ‘20s, and an update would be good for us today!
*Pancake Day
The Iowa City Athletic Booster Club Pancake Day breakfast fundraiser will be held Saturday, April 1st from 6:30 am – 2:00 pm at the West High School cafeteria at 2901 Melrose Ave in Iowa City, IA.
Most people do not realize this, but the Iowa City Athletic Booster Club’s fundraising efforts provide approximately half of each school’s athletics budget and is the first revenue source used to provide each school with the equipment and supplies they need to serve the more than 3,500 students who participate in school sports programs .
*Agape Café 30th Anniversary
On March 31, 1993, the Agape Cafe opened its doors to serve free, made-to order breakfast to our food insecure neighbors and those who are homeless.
Fast forward to Saturday, April 1st and Agape is celebrating 30 years with a Breakfast Fundraiser at Old Brick, 26 E. Market Street in Iowa City. The meal is available from 7:30-11:30 am, and is available for a free will donation. Please support this important cause!
*DID YOU KNOW? States that have a 5 or 10 cent deposit on beverage containers recycle between 80 and 90% of their bottles and cans. States that do not recycle about 24%.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:31 PM
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