Posted on 07/08/2002 8:00:31 AM PDT by SBeck
July 8, 2002
Stepping Up to the Plate
By BOB HERBERT
illie Mays told me that when he was a teenager he tried to pattern himself after Joe DiMaggio because the great Yankee center fielder was such a wonderful all-around player. But when it came to hitting, just hitting, which is the most difficult of all athletic skills, there was one man who, in Mays's view, stood alone.
"Ted Williams was the best hitter," he said.
If you're an amateur in reasonably good physical condition you can make a few shots from the basketball foul line. You can run a pass pattern and maybe catch a football thrown 20 or 30 yards. You can shag fly balls in the outfield.
But you cannot stand at home plate with 30 or so ounces of lumber in your hands and expect to hit major league pitching. You may not even see the ball, much less hit it. It will pass you at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. You'll hear a hiss, and then the thwock of the ball you didn't hit slamming into the catcher's mitt.
Williams, who died Friday at the age of 83, was a Hall of Famer whose eyesight was so extraordinary (it was measured at 20-10 in 1942) he reportedly was able to perceive the precise point of connection between the pitched ball and his fiercely swung bat.
I don't doubt it. He hit .406 in 1941 and no major leaguer has hit over .400 since.
But here's the thing about Ted Williams. The United States went to war in the early part of his career with the Boston Red Sox. In those pre-baby boomer days, when the nation was at war, most healthy young men felt an obligation to join the fight. And those who didn't feel the obligation were encouraged to do their duty by something called the draft.
Professional athletes, movie stars and the sons of prominent political figures were among the more or less privileged types who joined the millions of ordinary Americans marching off to war. Williams enlisted in the Marines and became a combat fighter pilot.
His career was interrupted again in 1952 during the Korean War. As a member of the Marine Reserves, he once again answered the call.
Last Sept. 11 the U.S. mainland was attacked and more than 3,000 people were slaughtered. We spent much of the long Independence Day weekend looking back at that unconscionable event. Displays of intense patriotism, often accompanied by tears, were everywhere, from the thunderous explosions of red, white and blue fireworks to the recitation again and again of the Pledge of Allegiance, to the many stirring renditions of "God Bless America" and the flag-waving parades in cities and towns, large and small.
That's all fine as far as it goes. The problem is that too many of us have confused carefully scripted displays of patriotism with genuinely patriotic behavior. The government tells us we're locked in a war against terrorism. But not only are Americans not making any extraordinary effort to join in this fight for the defense of our country, we're not even being asked to contribute to the war effort by making any real sacrifices.
Gone are the days when a Ted Williams would interrupt a flourishing baseball career to go off and fight the enemy. Most Americans, petrified of putting themselves in harm's way (not to mention losing a day's pay), wouldn't even think of doing such a thing. Vietnam brought an end to that kind of patriotism.
War? What war? For most Americans, war is something for other people to fight. Waving a flag is one thing; dodging bullets is something else, indeed. I thought it was interesting that President Bush announced on July 4 that he was allowing 15,000 active-duty members of the military who are not American citizens to apply for expedited naturalization.
At least we're grateful.
You'd think that with the U.S. mainland actually attacked, armed forces enlistment offices would have to turn away American citizens by the droves. Forget about it. We're not being called upon to do anything, not even dig a little deeper in terms of taxes to pay for the war effort.
When the war comes on television, we'll tune in.
All of this makes me very uncomfortable. Plans are being drawn for an attack on Iraq, perhaps as early as next year. Whatever the pros or cons, I'd feel better if ordinary Americans had more of a personal stake in this very dangerous move. Wartime patriotism should consist of something more than gawking at fireworks and eating barbecue.
Put up or shut up say I.
Have they ceased instructing NYer's how to read?.
---max
Of course Herbert never actually suggests a draft. When liberals talk about sacrifice they mean higher taxes. And since they oppose raising military budgets, they really mean "lets use the war as an excuse to grow the welfare state".
The whole issue of "real patriotism" is a red herring. The reason people like me are in no rush to "join the fight against the enemy" is that nobody in government has convinced me that he knows who the enemy is. The difference between the U.S. in 1940 and the U.S. in 2002 is that we now have a different breed of patriot who loves his country but despises his government.
When U.S. citizens can go out and burn down radical Islamic mosques in the United States without fear of retribution from their own government, then come and talk to me about patriotism.
Interesting comment, since I am quite certain that Bob Herbert's July 4th consisted of nothing more than gawking at fireworks and eating barbecue.
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