War Without Tears
Mon, November 29, 2021 In the 1970s, just before I left England and moved to the United States, there was a TV reality show called “It’s a knockout.” Towns and cities throughout the UK would put together teams to compete against each other. The games would consist of people dressing up in silly costumes and racing each other over various obstacle courses.
It made for amusing, entertaining viewing with a competitive aspect. I believe the idea started in France, there was a European version called “Jeux sans Frontiers” which translates to “Borderless Games.” In which different countries competed. Singer/songwriter Peter Gabriel wrote a song around the theme, Games Without Frontiers, War Without Tears.”
It occurred to me that the term “War Without Tears” was a concept that could apply to all competitive sports, whether they are in the form of races with a clear individual winner, or team games played on a field or some other marked out area. People compete against each, within a set of agreed rules, and no one gets hurt. At least not intentionally.
Each sport has a governing body that agree on a set rules, and referees or some other officials make sure those rules are enforced during the game. If rules are broken, there are penalties. Just as in real life, the government sets the rules, or laws, and the police and legal system ensure that rules are enforced. If they are broken there are consequences and penalties.
Where the system breaks down, whether in a sport or real life, is when people cheat or break the rules, and the referees turn a blind eye, or show bias towards one side. The governing body then needs to step in and restore order and fairness. Level the playing field, so to speak.
When I got into cycling and cycle racing as a teenager in the early1950s, I joined a cycling club. The club itself had rules, older established members of the club taught me the rules and explained the reasons for them being in place. The rules were there to ensure fairness and everyone’s safety.
There was also something called “Ethics,” or unwritten laws. One did not draft on the back of a group for the entire race, then go to the front and win at the end. This even applied to a club run or training ride. What would be the point? You won the race, but you would be a very unpopular winner.
It was common knowledge at the time that European Professional Cyclists took Amphetamines. Amphetamines were invented in the late 1800s about the time the chain driven bicycle was invented, and with the popularity of Six-Day Races and other extreme endurance events, amphetamines were a natural fit for cycle racing and other professional sports.
However, one has to realize that professional sports are for the entertainment of the spectator, whereas the amateur version of the same sport is solely for the participant. We were only in the sport for our personal satisfaction. Cheating in an amateur race back in the 1950s would have given zero satisfaction, and one would be ostracized if found out. I never heard of amateur cyclists doping during that era.
Today we live in a “Look at me” society, so there is a win at any cost mentality, even where there is no monetary gain. Ethics have completely gone out of the window not only in the sport of cycling, but in the “Game of life” itself. I am so glad I participated during the “Golden Age of Cycling.” It gave me such joy and satisfaction.
I am too old to ride in cycle races now, but I must of course continue to participate in the game of life. Sadly, it becomes less and less fun each day. I thought we agreed on a set of rules, but no one wants to play that way anymore.
Sometimes during English football (Soccer.) games, where poor decisions were made by a game official. The crowd would start singing, “The Referee is a Bastard.” (To the tune of "For he's a jolly good fellow.")
In recent weeks in the US we have seen riots on the streets in some places. I sometimes get the feeling it is no longer a legitimate form of protest but rather it has become a localized sport, which is why it happens over and over in the same cities. Now we have flash-mobs raiding stores, which is about nothing but personal gain.
The only referee on the streets enforcing the rules is the police, and whether the referee is a bastard or not depends which team you decide to support. In the real game of life, it is no longer “War without Tears,” the war and the tears are all too real.
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Reader Comments (3)
Perhaps the flash-mob-style looting of sport is the new way of playing the game of late-stage capitalism. When SO many resources are held captive by so few, many people have no means of participating otherwise. The games have changed. Why would the rules be the same?
I slept on this late-stage capitalism post, and my answer is that there have been poor in society since the beginning of humanity. Social media is what is destroying the fabric of our society. This allows them to form a flash mob and steal. And one of the ten commandments(rules) is: Thou shall not steal. But, a lot of folks are turning off social media, so maybe it will revert itself here over time.
A substitute for war sounds like Peleton’s substitute for getting outside to ride.
How about “Rollerball”? Did James Caan accept that a “game” can take the place of war? Not a chance. Watch the movie again to understand why the audience chants “Jonathan, Jonathan!” near the end.
Are we then to accept that a Metaverse can take the place of real life? Can governments take over real life with avatars? Well, there isn’t an Avatar in all of cyberdom that can keep up with me. It still takes real people to make and invent things. And to make things happen.
Here’s the thing: you have to constantly feed AI, algorithms, computers, information to even try to keep up with nature, much less with humans who have the gift of imagination. Perhaps someday they will stop chasing and accept they were pack fodder all along.