I keep partisan political comments out of these rants; that does not mean that I ignore happenings in the political arena. It is just that I have no interest in having any dealings with the fringe elements – - on both sides of the political spectrum – - that seem to dominate the political blogosphere. I say that to draw a clear line at the outset; I have no intention for anyone to take anything in today’s rant as a partisan political statement.
One other scene-setting note needs to be put forth at the outset. One can be sent to jail for the crime of “contempt of Congress”. Fortunately for me, there is no crime involved when a law-abiding citizen has a huge contempt for Congress; were I charged with thinking that the 535 folks who claim to be working for the betterment of the United States on Capitol Hill every day are nothing but a pack of self-aggrandizing, egomaniacal weasels, I would have to plead guilty.
Now, imagine how happy I was to pick up this morning’s Washington Post and turn to the Sports Section so that I could read about 26 column-inches on a Congressional hearing that dealt with the NFL negotiations with the NFLPA on a new collective bargaining agreement. The union says it anticipates a lockout in 2011; the league says they are working toward an agreement and thinks one will be reached in time to avoid a lockout. And, here is the paragraph that set me off:
“Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said during the hearing that ‘we need to monitor this lockout potential very closely …I certainly hope we’ll have a steady watch of this.’ “
OK, I am calmed down; I think the meds are kicking in.
Let me say that no one – - not a single member of the Congress of the United States – - should monitor the lockout potential for the NFL in 2011. Even if the member is an avid football fan, the “importance quotient” for an NFL strike in 2011 relative to the problems that should be the full-time concern of the Congress of the United States would need to be magnified a million-fold to reach the level of “Irrelevant”.
The hearing reported in today’s Washington Post was a grandstanding waste of time that should never have happened. Were I the arbiter of such things, any Congressthing who even suggested any future hearing or monitoring of this issue would spend all of eternity neck deep in scorpions.
Memo to Congress:
1. There are significant issues that you need to address in 2010. Some – - but not all – - of them are economic recovery, joblessness, two ongoing wars, terrorism, health care reform and the improved efficiency/effectiveness of the US Government agencies and departments. Keep your eye on those balls and not on baseballs and footballs.
2. Stop the grandstanding; stop the procrastinating.
3. You, members of the Congress in 2010, are not what Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Madison had in mind…
Before the medullae of my adrenal glands return to a quiescent state, let me express some skepticism about one other thing that is happening on the periphery of the sports world. I said I was skeptical; that means I have doubts about the veracity of this but reserve the right to change my mind if confronted with credible data on the matter. I am referring to the reports in the National Enquirer that Tiger Woods has entered a clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi for sex addiction treatment.
I understand how people can – and are – addicted to substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, nicotine, caffeine, chocolate and many others. I recognize that scientists have traced the chemical interactions of those kinds of substances with body chemicals to bring about changes in the brain/central nervous system and a person can come to desire those changes so significantly that the changes become necessary for their happiness or functionality. I am just not sure that sex addiction falls in the same category.
In fact, if the reports are true that Tiger Woods is actually undergoing treatment for this affliction, I get a distinct whiff of PR shenanigans here. In US society today, addicts are victims; they cannot help themselves; they need the intervention of others and support groups to keep them from returning to their addicted ways. For substance abusers, I get that; if you keep those chemicals out of their bodies, then their central nervous systems will not react in the way that brought on the addiction.
But sex addiction? Really? It seems an awfully convenient thing to claim for a celebrity with virtually unlimited resources. If he and his people can convince the public he is an “addict”, then no blame can attach itself to him and we will all be asked to bestow our pity and our support on him for what has happened so that it will never happen to him again. I will stop short of calling “Bulls*it” here – - but not too far short.
#1 son has a PhD in Evolutionary Biology/Paleontology and his focus to date has been to study mammalian carnivores. I am certain that I will get a lecture from him about how simplistic the following argument is; unafraid, I will push on… It seems to me as if “sex addiction” is an excellent survival strategy for mammalian males. There are lots more polygamous species than there are monogamous species – - even if you limit your search to the Primates. Males within Homo sapiens may not be as hard-wired for polygamy as a survival strategy as say, lions or baboons; however, it certainly appears to me that monogamy is socially and culturally imposed behavior on most men.
Now comes the important part: Lots of men have adapted to that social and cultural norm. Those men have exercised sufficient self-control over a genetic heritage for polygamy that they do not need to find ways to copulate with myriad females all of the time. Until further notice, I think “sex addiction” is a new code word for lack of adult self-control.
Tiger Woods’ treatment has been linked to comments made by a “recovering sex addict” named Benoit Denizet-Lewis. I do not know Benoit from a beignet but in his writings for the NY Times, he has claimed that the therapy offered at this clinic for sex addiction includes “group therapy sessions and family and couple’s therapy”. I am still waiting for the reports that Elin Nordegren has checked into the same clinic in Hattiesburg to be part of the “family and couple’s therapy…”
In 2010 when an athlete/celebrity does something wrong or gets in trouble, it is convenient to paint oneself as a victim of something beyond the control of the athlete/celebrity. “Addiction” to something is a clear path to “victimhood” meaning that a claim of “addiction” has a beneficial end-point. Sex addiction has a particularly attractive aspect in that one does not engage in felonious activities while succumbing to this addiction as one might with an addiction to heroin. The issues with sex addiction are moral ones – - and victim status applies a social balm to one who avers that he/she is fighting to get to the right place on those moral issues.
I cannot prove it and I would not waste a moment of time in an attempt to prove it, but the sex addiction claim makes me think it is far more about image-polishing than psychological counseling and that it has been orchestrated by the folks at IMG.
Finally, here is what Conan O’Brien had to say about Tiger Woods’ alleged check in at a clinic to treat his sex addiction:
“Actually he’s checked into three sex clinics, but they don’t know about each other.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…