Hunger Rumblings
ELCA World Hunger staff and associates write about root causes of hunger, current events, and anything else they find pertinent.
Am I just a grumpy bumpkin?
So I was in Michigan last weekend giving a talk on global water issues. One night in my hotel I was watching ESPN (sports is one of my horrible vices, but that is probably another post…) and I came across this commercial. In the spot, Bono, the great champion of human rights goes through a litany of social ills (hunger, poverty, war, immigration, etc.) and concludes that all of these are irrelevant because for “one month, every four years, we all agree on one thing…” And that one thing? Soccer.
I was quite (and still am, I think) disgusted by the suggestion. Two reasons:
1) Is agreement about soccer (or any sport for that matter) really something to hang our hats on? I mean, we have no political will to address the great evils of our time, but we sure can appreciate guys running around and kicking a ball? Really?
2) Is Bono a sellout? Why trivialize such horrors?
So I’m wondering… Did I misread the ad? Is it saying something different? I really want it to, because I really like Bono.
If I am not misreading the ad, am I just being a grouch? I understand that people need entertainment, and it is nice for us to find the things that unite us (but I will repeat my–perhaps now tired–refrain, to what end are we united?). Also, I understand that we need to have diversions that help us cope with the darker and more difficult parts of human existence.
So the million dollar question: does this ad go overboard, or do I need a bit of perspective?
-David Creech
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on May 25th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I think that the idea is nice, but maybe it’s not expressed that well? While our “togetherness” is the point I don’t think that the “it’s not about…” lines necessarily always make sense. For instance, as we gather around the world and we look past all of those things – we look to the talent of a player regardless of race, creed or location – “it’s not about” those; BUT doesn’t that mean that it IS about enforcing human rights and dignity? I think the commercial is close to cool…but they just missed the punch line slightly. On a side note, I read about this campaign to distribute indestructible soccer balls to children in worn torn countries. It talks about the life skills you can learn through playing soccer…and as a young woman who spent 12 years of her life on the field, I can attest to how life-changing the opportunity to play a sport can be. Also though, they focus on how the ball provides hope for a future – it’s a constant – because it’s can’t be punctured. Hope is a Game-Changer project: http://www.poweroftheinvisiblesun.com/book-proceeds.html
on May 25th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Although I’m not an expert on apartheid, the significance of the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa goes beyond the sport. This World Cup is being looked at as a hope for South Africa to put aside the racism and unite as a country both black and white, much as they did in 1995 with the Rugby World Cup, the basis for the movie Invictus. Soccer (football) in South Africa is still very much a segregated sport, and the wounds of apartheid are very fresh. This is viewed as an opportunity to bring the country together, and thus the world closer together. Racism is a root cause of strife and hunger throughout the world (look at the majority of the poorest countries in the world, and the slave trade was a part of their history in the majority of cases.)
With Bono’s heart for Africa, I see his ad as a means to ask the world to look at South Africa, with the hope that we can one day look past the color of skin, and see each person in the world as God sees him/her. Obviously we haven’t gotten past race issues here in the US and it has been over 45 years since the Civil Rights Act, so it will be a long road for South Africa, but if a sport gives us a glimpse of what is possible, then I don’t see it as a bad thing.
on May 26th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Thank you Mary, what a great insight!
on May 27th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Thanks Mary and Lana for your thoughts. To your point Lana, if we are about being truly unified, we have to take the grave injustices seriously. It HAS to be about the litany of issues tossed aside, otherwise the unity is, in my mind, fairly empty. I think agreement about soccer (or any other sport) is a pretty low bar. That said, to your point Mary, it can be an entry point to healing. I hope that it does in fact heal some of the racial divisions in South Africa (though some of the stories I’ve heard is how it is opening them further).
on November 11th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
we are a long way from kansas