There are numerous examples of ‘conservative’ intransigence stymieing the inevitable progress of the future. Gay marriage and stem cell research are two quick examples, and while I’m not trying to equate those contentious issues to instant replay in sports, they do share a common similarity.
Thomas Jefferson summarized it best, “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”
Hesitance to change isn’t always imprudent, although more than enough debate has elapsed for these three issues and the solutions have become glaringly obvious.
Let’s begin with America’s pastime.
Managers go berserk. Fans scream at the TV. Owners shake their heads in disgust. I’m not describing a potential lock out or a bench-clearing brawl, I’m talking about a botched call. A fair ball called foul, a (sliding safely) base runner thrown out, or a no-hitter derailed by an unintentional blunder.
Technology is readily accessible to remedy these mistakes, but it remains dusty like the cleats of a shortstop. Instead, a debate ensues each time a controversial call occurs. Pundits weigh in deriding the inaction of the commissioner and governing bodies for refusing to implement a reviewing process. In a night or two it’s forgotten like a mosquito bite, until the next avoidable mishap.
Repeat.
Tennis, football and basketball are all incrementally incorporating instant replay to mitigate error and to ensure fairness of the sport. Poor officiating shouldn’t be part of a sport any more than a streaker is (although a streaker is unquestionably more entertaining). A streaker causes a minor distraction, he/she’s removed, and the game continues. The same can be achieved with the use of instant replay without as much fanfare.
For those who feel threatened by the advent of instant replay blemishing a sport, I ask, is there anything that can taint a sport worse than robbing a team of victory? Some folks speak of the ‘purity of the game,’ but there’s nothing pure in permitting fixable mistakes to alter the decision of a game. Masked cheating has become prevalent and practically undetectable in many sports — the least we should demand is fairness on the field before our eyes.
Switching to the political, the more citizens realize the integrity of ‘traditional marriage’ is a laughable concept and homosexuals don’t threaten heterosexual marriages (with the exception of many Republican politicians), the more momentum pro-gay marriage receives. After a bunch of religious, intolerant arguments cloaked as intellectual debate, civil rights will triumph and life will go on, much to conservatives chagrin. The resistant-to-change conservative fear may remain, but human rights will prevail.
Similarly, stem cell research opponents rally mightily to prevent the funding for embryo development. They concoct absurd (primarily religious) arguments against this promising field while millions of diseased citizens suffer and die. President Barack Obama’s executive order supporting the research was thwarted by Judge Royce Lamberth last month. This obstruction will likely be overruled, however here’s another example of bureaucracy delaying progress. It’s no longer a question of if; it’s a question of when.
My intent is not to trivialize stem cell research or gay marriage rights, but to show the comparison in how preserving the status quo is often done to our detriment. Many folks fear progress. As future leaders, it is our responsibility to remain malleable like Jefferson said, and promote fairness whenever possible.
How many more games will be tarnished by egregious officiating errors? How many more years will pass before gay people are permitted to wed nationwide? How many more lives will Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases claim before we start adequately funding stem cell research?
Hopefully not many, because I’m getting impatient.
Conor Shapiro is a graduate student in the School of International Service and a liberal columnist.
edpage@theeagleonline.com
