Good Sports

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on June 20, 2007

Sacrifice for the Common Good

In baseball, when a batter comes to the plate with a teammate on first or second base and less than two outs in a close came, he will often bunt the runner to second base. This is called a sacrifice, in that he gave up his opportunity for getting a hit in order to move his teammate into scoring position. Sacrifice may be defined as the surrender of something prized for the sake of something considered as having a higher claim. Back in the 1940’s, the sacrifice bunt was all but a given in situations described above, but today’s players often eschew the sacrifice for the prospect of the personal glory that their at bat might bring them. Likewise, more than sixty years ago President Roosevelt asked the country to make sacrifices for the war effort which comprised of rationing of rubber, metals and consumable goods. Americans were proud to make such sacrifices in their personal lives for the common good of the country. Today there is little evidence that Americans are willing to make similar sacrifices and as yet no leader has emerged to ask them to do as such.

In 1980 nearly half our country’s oil was supplied by the Persian Gulf Arab nations. In 1973 and 1978 prices of oil soared with these countries cutting back on supply. Long lines at the gas pump became the order of the day. Would Americans forego their large autos in exchange for energy independence? The Regan administration shifted the energy policy to the short term by increasing domestic drilling, offshore drilling and importing more oil from Venezuela and Mexico to decrease our country’s vulnerability. Secretary of Interior, James C. Watt leased public lands for drilling and mining which further depleted our nation’s supply. The short term solution with its long term costs may be debated, but Watt, who has little use for environmental groups said on February 11, 2004 “The facts continue to be that we must increase conservation. We must increase renewable energy resources, wind, water and solar.”

Twenty-seven years after Reagan took office, we are still incorporating a short-term energy policy to increase our supply without regard to decreasing demand. The current administration has fought to defeat legislation that would require better fuel economy from new autos. Domestic drilling on public lands, offshore drilling combined with a growing need for foreign oil continues to be our nation’s de facto policy. Where is the leadership to ask our citizens to sacrifice for the common good? Is there a candidate who has the courage to say, “It is not morning in America, we need to bite the bullet and conserve fossil fuels for future generations and to keep our independence.”?

Perhaps no candidate is willing to ask Americans to sacrifice, because we have not shown a propensity to surrender that which we take for granted. When we read a letter to our editor advising citizens that global warming does not exist based on some bad science he read in a book we begin to see the degree of denial some will absorb in order to justify their selfish polluting ways. Do we think that global scientists are concocting this scenario for their own gain? Unlike the apologists who wish to protect a lifestyle, environmentalists have nothing to gain by attempting to slow down global warming. Calling them “Chicken Little” does not lessen the impact that our actions today will have on future generations. Could environmentalists be wrong about global warming? Perhaps, but actions taken to control it would only involve sacrifice. If we continue on our current path of damaging the earth, as the majority of scientists studying our environment have concluded, we are headed for global catastrophe.

Government works best when it affords its citizens a means of accomplishing something that individuals cannot or will not do on their own for the common good. FDR’s stimulation of the economy with government programs was what the country needed during the depression. His call for sacrifice of our citizens at home helped us win World War II. This was done while giving those who rationed the knowledge they were instrumental in the war effort. We are now faced with global problems which will call for us to once again make some sacrifices. Will we have a leader step forward with the courage to tell us what we need to do? If such a person takes this chance, will we see the wisdom in this sacrifice?

Budd Glassberg is a resident of Zionsville who is active in the local running community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.