PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.
Truth be told, I am a baseball fan only at certain times of the year, especially as the World Series draws closer.
So, I do not have much credibility to comment on the scandal engulfing the Houston Astros who have admitted to a systematic approach to cheat to win games, including the World Series.
But I did appreciate reading a quote from one of the best sports writers going these days, Rick Reilly. Here is what he wrote for The Atlantic:
“Like a pilot in a blizzard, America is flying upside down right now. We have a president who lies with every other breath and then demonizes anyone who tells the truth. We have senators who swear on the Bible and then run a trial without a single witness. And now we have a national pastime that knows the Astros robbed Fort Knox and let them keep the gold anyway.”
Not much more needs to be said about a Reilly quote that does a great job of comparing the state of national politics today to the state of baseball today. Both have been indelibly marked by cheating.
So, now we’re supposed to root again for the Astros as the baseball season begins and when they might be cheating again. And, were supposed to vote in the next presidential election, which already has been rigged in favor of the incumbent and will be rigged again before next November.
Right!
Perspective from the 19th Hole 