Playing for Pride

This being Super Bowl weekend, there’s much talk of the Patriots’ undefeated season. Why even bother to show up, Giants? Oh, yeah, it’s the Super Bowl, you suit up and get out there and kick A. Or try.

By the end of the football season here in Prairie Country, there’ve been a lot of teams, high school and college, about whom it gets said: they’re playin’ for pride.

Except, pride’s taken a lot of hits of late.

Because of pride—hubris, stubbornness, “gut instinct,” I’m gonna do it my way and nobody’s gonna tell me otherwise and I’ve made up the intelligence to prove it and besides Cheney says its all right.

Because of pride—we’re right so we’re going to ram thru our Republican-controlled Congress for years whatever we damn well please, and then we’re going to appeal to the pride of one of yours, and even if you Dems are in control we’re going to show you who’s really runnin’ the show.

Because of pride—hey, look at us, we’re preachin’ the gospel of prosperity on Wall Street and in the megachurches and we’re flyin’ high in our corporate jets on the fumes of glory.

Mr. Sunshine linked me to an essay at MarketWatch that had something interesting to say about pride. Now, I’m presuming since this is a columnist writing on ethics I’ll have no trouble finding similar strong-worded commentary about the role of the bankers [due diligence anyone?] and the money lenders and the money bundlers and the lack-of-oversight by government regulators and…what’s this? Just brush that aside with a broad brush?

But still, there is this:

It would be better if people looked at their homes as a nice place to live and a good place for their kids to grow up and not just as an investment. They'd stay put longer and maybe gain some pride.

Right now pride is at a low point in this country. We need to stand firm and tall—not walk away. And it seems to me that our homes are a good place to start restoring that pride.

Pride is really out of whack lately, battered by the twin forces of wretched excess—hubris on the one side and shame on the other. We’ve been led down the path that was promised to be strewn with roses and too many of us still don’t want to look at the truth. And too many in power have a vested interest in not telling us the truth.

Or telling that part of the truth that serves their interests.

Do they take pride in their work? How’s that taking a cold hard look in the mirror thing workin’ out, Tim and Chris and Brian and Charlie and Katie and…I almost tucked in a Fox name or two, but they have no pride over there that isn’t so tainted I don’t even want to include ’em. And huzzah, the era of the right-wing radio screeders seems to’ve peaked. Wrap their pride in a cigar wrapper and set ’em out in the sun ’til they’re done.

We’re winding down the season on Team Bush. But it’s not over yet. And we’ve been lied to and cheated on and the refs have had sand thrown in their eyes and some have taken a little something in the back pocket and it’s a pretty dirty game out there these days.

For seven years we’ve been led by a cheerleader catapulting the propaganda and trying to draw our eyes from the real games that are going on.

And so we must suit up. And get on the playing field with honor and enthusiasm and, yes, pride.

Pride for team, and home…and country.