Once upon a time, accusing someone of being a communist in this country was the worst slur you could slander one with. Communism was a severely punishable offense, particularly when Senator Joseph McCarthy was at the other end of the pointing finger. Arthur Miller wrote his play The Crucible to illustrate how this country's search for communists among us was equivalent to the Salem witch trials generations earlier. An accused communist was guilty until proven otherwise, his reputation trashed as he became a symbol of what this country was most against.
Flash forward to the current day and time. With American troops still overseas doing military business in the Middle East, the most anti-patriotic label being placed on people is not that of communist, but rather, that of pacifist. The new creed is that it's necessary to stand behind our President and his intent to stamp out the regime of Saddam Hussein and grant freedom to the Iraqi people. The American people are to accept that this could only be accomplished through the firing of guns and launching of missiles. As for the convoluted logic that explains why such action is a reasonable reaction to the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001 that were attributed to Osama bin Laden, who does not happen to be Saddam's roommate, I leave that for sharper minds than mine to deconstruct. The important thing is that once this country declares war on another, whether we agree with or even comprehend the reason or not, our citizens are supposed to jump on board with their support and yellow ribbons tied around old oak trees. Anything less will get you tossed onto the same boat as those witches and communists of yesteryear.
What does any of this have to do with sports, which is after all what I'm supposed to be writing about? The answer should be, "nothing". When you purchase a newspaper, the typical layout is for hardcore current events to be chronicled in the front section, and for lighter fare such as the results of various sporting contests to appear in the back. For those who crave news of the battlefield, who hunger to learn more about various political issues that Democrats and Republicans tend to be on the opposite ends of, the front pages await everyday. For those who wish to momentarily escape the troubles of this world and simply concern themselves with how the playoffs are proceeding in hockey, or how the upcoming postseason is shaping up in basketball, or what kind of start their favorite baseball team is up to, that is what the back pages are there for. But on occasion, the events of the front pages and those in the back manage to intertwine.
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