Former Astronaut and Senator John Glenn spoke at Elon University in 2 005 , Paraphrased , he contended that the greatness of America was due to 1. Our committment to research and 2. Education for everyone.
Category: K. PHILOSOPHY
JAMES BOND VILLAINS
Am I the only one who thinks Elon Musk looks like Casino Royale’s Le Chiffe ( Mads Mikkleson ) ?
MILESTONES
Upon retiring I committed myself to continuing efforts to help tennis players , coaches, and teams. My friend, Jim Toney, and I focused on our local facilities. Then coaches. Frankly, emphasis has been on on the high school level although much extends both up and down levels.
I wrote a guide entitled THE LITTLE GREEN BOOK of TENNIS which was provided freely to all North Carolina coaches and varsity girls and boys players.
Next we formed a group of capable volunteers we called the SHOT DOCTORS (see brochure ) who lent their time and expertise, particulary to their local schools. Soon the NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS COACHES ASSOCIATION ( NCHSTCA ) became our primary outlet. Included on their new website they created a panel entitled RESOURCES. Membership gave access to exclusive SHOT DOCTORS contributions.
Things change. Certainly tennis does. And while the NCHSTCA website hosts reems of this new information, space dictates limitations.
THE LITTLE GREEN BOOK of TENNIS was written in 2007. And while much of its time honored material remains unchanged, time rolls on. ( FREE LINK ) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gcvZxRjGo8vX5HDImfaK6es039uRX1wS/view
AUTHOR’S SUGESTIONS ( NOVEMBER 20, 2024 )
My intent is to ” leave it all on the court”. This MILESTONES blog is an effort to make more and new instruction available since the book was written and revised (2015 ). And I have selected some repeats, that were most often cited as helpful. THE REST OF THE STORY hopefully shines light the two seismic moments — 1. New technology and data and the truth about international athletes in American colleges (College tennis particularly—-and 2. The upheaval surounding paying athletes ( PORTALS AND POTHOLES ).
Is this not the moment to redesign more reasonable governance of AMERICAN COLLEGE ATHLETICS.
The REST OF THE STORY is VERY LONG. A condensed version is available here. So, too , is the subsequent file, HELPING PART 2 , extremely long and detailed. They are included as evidence of the long these deep seated problems have gone on.
HELPING PART 2 can be found on the main blog under the title AMERICAN COLLEGE TENNIS PLAYERS ( 34 ) – https://littlegreenbookoftennis.com/2023/01/07/american-college-tennis-players/
TWO CLOSING COMMENTS: 1. While my “hobby writing” began with my retirment and centers on tennis instruction and sports commentary, there are articles on everything from Bob Dylan to Pickleball . Search the CATEGORIES column ( far right ) on the blog cover page. 2. I plan to keep the blog open and writing short pieces. There is a lot to clean up , edit, categorize.
“Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now”. (Bob Dylan–MISSISSIPPI )
SHOT DOCTORS The brochure below is an announcement of a new, non- profit group of volunteers to help North Carolina’s high school varsity boys and girl tennis players, their coaches and teams.
It is new leaf time for me. It’s not the writing. Technology wins. Too many unknown buttons. Too much angst, frustration, begging for help, same errors and “can’t finds .” Good luck, AI.
The writing is fun, so that stays on http://www.tomparham.wordpress.com. No new books on the horizon.
Below are a series of NEW articles available freely. In addition, a second group of selected OLDER articles are included later , as they are some of the best articles on the blog:
—————NEW ARTICLES—————
—————OLDER ARTICLES—————
THE REST OF THE STORY1
Below is a letter to me that states the position of NCAA President Mark A. Emmert on international athletes in American college athletics. And I agree with the content. However, I believe there is another tenable side to this issue. Therefore, in addition to President Emmert letter, I have shared what I believe is another salient side to the issue.
Dr. Mark Emmert
President, NCAA
PO Box 6222
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
Dear Dr. Emmert,
I am appreciative of your letter of March 15, 2017. Earlier this winter I had a long conversation with Timothy Russell , CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). I have also pled my case to Paul Lubbers of USTA player development, the Southern district of USTA, (STA) and the North Carolina Tennis Association (NCTA).
And have done so with countless others since 1970. Your response ensures that I have been heard at our highest levels and that is truly fair.
Approaching age 77 with fifty years of coaching, teaching and administering in two small (Barton College) to mid size Division 1 (Elon University), I have watched this issue closely, and while I fully agree with diversity and inclusion and equitable participation, there seems to be more to the issue.
My teams rosters included fifty plus internationals. From about a dozen different countries. Roland Thornqvist, women’s tennis coach at the University of Florida just won the women’s D1 National team tennis indoor title, owning a handful of national titles. I recruited Roland to the USA and he is probably best known of my recruits who are in the athletics arena and have stayed in the country. No less known in the world of orthopedic surgery in America is Dr. Pramote Malisitt, a native of Bangkok, who remains in our country. Dr. Peter Lindstrom, is one of twenty nine Swedes whom I recruited, and who is nationally known as a vital computer expert with our defense department. Neither our schools, nation, nor I would wish they weren’t here.
Never have I suggested we shouldn’t have delved into internationals then or now. But it seems to me to be a half full/half empty issue. Not once have I ever said an international should be prohibited from participation. Or equal admittance. The elephant in the room is scholarships. Never have I suggested internationals should be exempt from a reasonable amount of money. I do believe that the NCAA has a legal right to provide aid to our citizens first. One link to follow allows that about 200 million American dollars go into international men and women tennis players.
Many parents and taxpayers question all foreign rosters, all with grants and many from state schools. (See enclosed latest rankings from Division II) I wouldn’t object to an all international team in any sport if they paid the bill. But to scholarship an all African team, rather than an African American team is bothersome, to say the least. What we have now is foreign aid, not trade. Not once in the many times I asked any international , “Would your native country do what we do?” was the answer yes. And the money is coming from the coffers of the only reasonable financial return for all the expenses encountered: Scholarships. Scholarships can easily amount to a quarter million dollars per student ,over four years. Not to mention the subsequent benefits of quality education. I don’t even mention the rarity of professional player rewards, as we all know the status of American elite players. That is another issue, but giving American college tennis to internationals via disproportionate scholarship is directly related to this demise (again link to follow).
Basketball, golf, and other international sports are making forays into the American college arena. As a young coach I quickly realized if they have a nuclear weapon or two, I had better find some to help me keep my job. This is true today. Witness Duke University’s meteoric rise in Women’s golf. Surely young coaches watched an all international roster ascend to the top. Is this the intent of Title IX for our women? The American college system is the best system in the world to train elite athletes. The best example is surely Women’s Soccer.
Soccer, the most widely played sport in the world ,has never been won by American men. Yet, since the advent of Title IX our women have won three world cups in soccer. All twenty three women were participants in American College Soccer. And I’d bet they all had scholarships. Some one asked me where was the national training center for women on the world cup team? Chapel Hill, I replied. (Anson Dorance’s UNC teams had six of the twenty three players). And his teams influenced all the rest.
Upon accepting the job at Elon University, the then president admonished me, “… we don’t want an all foreign team!” After ten years that included a national team championship, I was concerned that a walk-on international was good enough to shift our team balance to more than 50% international for the first time. A decided shift in attitude was “ Coach we’ve decided that we don’t care where they are from if they are the quality of people you’ve been recruiting.”
And, while this validates your position, I believe a compromise is the answer.
My internationals returned home at about a 90% rate. That money may have brought in any number of our own citizens, equal in every way, except talent in tennis, as a true 18 year old freshman . (see DAY DREAM BELIEVER) on addendum to follow. Without scholarship aid for many American tennis youngsters, the “…pathway to opportunity” does not currently exist.
I have shared a few opinions, mine and others, on Addendum 1.
I intend to include a copy of your letter, and valid position to several interested parties. Knowing I have had my say, I remain sincerely grateful.
Tom Parham
“THE REST OF THE STORY” CONDENSED (Dan Parham and AI)
College Tennis in Crisis: A Briefing on the Dominance of International Players and the Impact on American Athletes
This briefing document analyzes the provided sources, revealing a concerning trend in American collegiate tennis: the overwhelming dominance of international players, particularly in scholarship-funded positions and top-ranked teams. The main argument is that this phenomenon has detrimental consequences for American tennis players, limiting their opportunities for college scholarships, high-level competition, and professional development.
Key Themes and Facts:
International Player Dominance: Data compiled across multiple NCAA divisions shows that international players constitute a significant majority of players in top-ranked teams and occupy most scholarship positions. This trend is evident in both men’s and women’s tennis. For instance, an analysis of randomly selected top-ranked teams across six divisions in the 2024 season revealed that 92% of the players were international.
Limited Opportunities for American Players: The high proportion of international players in college tennis directly limits the number of roster spots and scholarships available to American athletes. This is especially alarming considering the financial burden of developing high-level tennis players in the US, where, unlike in Europe and Asia, government support is lacking.
Financial Incentives for Coaches: The current system incentivizes college coaches to prioritize recruiting international players, often overlooking talented American players. This is driven by the pressure to maintain high rankings and achieve winning records, often at the expense of developing American talent.
The “Preferred Walk-on” Dilemma: While some American players manage to secure spots on teams as “preferred walk-ons,” this designation often comes with little to no financial aid. This further disadvantages American players compared to their international counterparts who often receive full scholarships.
Supporting Evidence (Quotes and Data):
“The NCAA is also to be blamed for not keeping tennis-specific numbers. It is impossible to find out how many international players take roster spots, scholarships or graduate from college.” – Tennis World, August 5, 1999.
“In the final match, no American player participated… Americans received less than 5% of the total tennis scholarships awarded.” – Description of the 2001 Big South Conference men’s tennis tournament
“Let’s be honest …College tennis is failing American tennis. “ – Luke Jensen, former professional tennis player.
“There’s somewhere around 7,000 scholarships available… and there are just not enough American juniors to fill the scholarships.” – Tim Russell, CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Consequences and Concerns:
Diminishing American Tennis: The lack of college playing opportunities for American athletes negatively impacts the development of future American tennis stars. This is evidenced by the dwindling number of American players in professional tennis with college experience.
Loss of Fan Interest and Support: Teams dominated by international players may face challenges in attracting local fan interest and alumni support. The lack of “homegrown” talent can lead to a disconnect between college teams and their communities.
Ethical Considerations: Concerns arise regarding the ethical implications of allocating taxpayer-funded scholarships predominantly to international students, while talented American students are left behind.
Potential Solutions:
Scholarship Allocation for American Players: A significant proposal is to reserve a certain percentage of scholarship funds for American players, ensuring they have a fair chance to compete and develop at the collegiate level.
Increased Support for High School Tennis: Strengthening high school tennis programs can help cultivate a stronger base of American players and provide them with the necessary experience to compete for college scholarships.
Data Transparency and Advocacy: Collecting and analyzing data on the nationality of college tennis players, scholarship recipients, and award winners can raise awareness and encourage action from the USTA, NCAA, and other relevant organizations.
Conclusion:
The current landscape of American collegiate tennis presents a significant challenge to the development of American players. The dominance of international players in scholarship-funded positions creates an uneven playing field, hindering the growth of future generations of American tennis stars. Addressing this issue requires a concerted effort from the USTA, NCAA, college coaches, and all stakeholders who are passionate about American tennis. Proactive measures such as scholarship allocation for American players, increased support for high school tennis, and data transparency are crucial steps towards a more equitable and sustainable future for the sport.
HEADS UP
August 5th, 1999 From TENNIS WORLD by Beth German:
“The NCAA is also to be blamed for not keeping tennis specific numbers. It is impossible to find out how many international players take roster spots, scholarships or Graduate from college.”
ITA Website, Rankings Data & Nationality
Stunning: In 1970 the National Association of Athletics (NAIA) voted to eliminate restrictions on foreign tennis players. The issue was largely a small college concern, NAIA, NCAA 2, Junior Colleges men and women. From 1970 to 1980 teams went from a maximum of one international player to all six starters being international. A report below from the NCAA sites statistics from the year of 2007 that doesn’t reflect the more important issue. The NCAA report included all the division 3 schools that don’t offer tennis scholarships, plus the total number of teams are included —many of whom don’t recruit anybody. The intensity of the situation for the big schools came later in the ’80’s and 90’s. The NCAA, the ITA and the UTR are good sources of data on college tennis. The best of these is the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Their website allows you to reach every team, its roster, its schedule, & the national origin of the players. In contrast to the mid ’80’s you can now easily find the nationality and the possibility of scholarship players.
In 1985 I painstakingly uncovered that one 8 team conference had 63 players in the total league, 62 of whom were international. While that took me hours to uncover, that kind of information can be found easily now by researching teams on the ITA website. Check the ranking file, check the roster, and check the schedule for close matches, and the stunning picture is revealed easily.
The Best Source of Information — THE ITA WEBSITE https://wearecollegetennis.com/ita-rankings/
The Missing Chart
2024 ITA/NCAA COLLEGE RANKINGS
We randomly picked the 1st, 5th, 10th and 20th ranked teams from each division men and women.
The results speak volumes and suggest any teams picked in each division would show very similar results.
DIVISION 1 MEN’S SINGLES INTERNATIONAL:
- Rank 1 Texas Christian University 9 of 9
- Rank 5 Kentucky 7 of 8
- Rank 10 Florida State 6 of 8
- Rank 20 Arizona State 5 of 8
- 27 of 33 = 87 %
DIVISION 1 WOMEN’S SINGLES:
- Rank 1 Texas A & M 3 of 6
- Rank 5 Michigan 2 of 6
- Rank 10 Cal Berkley 4 of 7
- Rank 20 South Carolina 4 of 7
- 12 of 22 = 54 %
DIVISION 11 MEN’S SINGLES:
- Rank 1 Valdosta State 9 of 9
- Rank 5 Columbus State 8 of 8
- Rank 10 Wingate 8 of 8
- Rank 20 Hawaii Pacific 9 of 9
- 34 of 34 = 100 %
DIVISION 11 WOMEN’S SINGLES:
- Rank 1 Nova Southeastern 8 of 8
- Rank 5 Emory Riddle 7 of 7
- Rank 10 Auburn Montgomery 7 of 7
- Rank 20 Mississippi College 6 of 9
- 26 of 29 = 90 %
NAIA MEN:
- Rank 1 Georgia Gwinnett 7 of 8
- Rank 5 Reinhardt 6 of 8
- Rank 10 Grace 7 of 8
- Rank 20 Cumberland (Tenn) 8 of 8
- 28 of 32 = 90%
NAIA WOMEN:
- Rank 1 Georgia Gwinnett 8 of 8
- Rank 5 Middle Georgia State 7 of 8
- Rank 10 Union 7 of 8
- Rank 20 Northeastern Ohio 7 of 8
- 29 of 32 = 91 %
TOTAL ALL 6 DIVISIONS
- 156 of 178 (92%) were International
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PROBABILITIES
Win or NFL means “…Not For Long !” (Hank Stram , Coach )
- Coaching’s Pox. Winning rules.
2. The best players win—-probably.
3. “ I just rob banks. That’s where the money is !” (Willie Sutton )
Global sports produce a much greater pool than just the USA, or the South, or North
Carolina.
4. Coaches will play the best players.
5. The players who make up the lineup in close, competitive matches ( 4/3 , 5/2 ) will be those with scholarships. Check the rosters and schedules ( “Results”. or “Box Scores”. )
WHY DO IT? ( Jim Toney, late Economics Professor at Elon University and tennis angel )… A fine player and promoter of tennis, Mr. Toney and I zeroed in on High School tennis court construction. Later in his life he developed Parkinson’s. During our last conversation I told how much I appreciated the work he had done for tennis. He leaned forward, peering at me with those steely eyes, and said ” Don’t you quit.”)
RECENT COMMENTS
Harvey Penick—THE LITTLE RED BOOK of GOLF author). “If you read this book you are my pupil. If you play golf you are my friend. “
Robert Bayliss
This is a difficult conundrum. On one hand, having an international player on your team can be a culturally broadening experience for all, as we learn about the history ad culture of others.To deny opportunities to “foreigners” seems unfair. Looking at this from a different angle provides a warning for our sport. One of the incentives driving young players into tennis is the goal of playing on a college team. The travel, life lessons learned, and so much more can provide motivation to commit to tennis in the hopes of gaining a scholarship, roster spot, admissions bump, and more might be exactly what keeps young players involved and committed to tennis. To forfeit that incentive will diminish; ish the number of players and the overall interest and importance of tennis to young Americans. The growth of soccer, lacrosse, and other sports is already eroding tennis’s base, so adding to that problem is problematic.
Looking long-range at this, I believe that we should be careful not to load up our college rosters – and the benefits thereof – with an overwhelming number of international players. Alumni interest and support are also a consideration.
In today’s world of collegiate athletics, coaches are fired for performance at increasingly higher rates. If I lose matches to teams stacked with international players there is the possibility that I might similarly load up my own roster internationally. The domino effect would be disastrous for American tennis This is balanced against the competitive benefit for American players as they compete against outstanding foreigners. While rushing to judgment should be avoided, we cannot continue to ignore anything that threatens the strength and significance of American tennis. The time for action is now.
Respectfully
Bobby Bayliss
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Charles Hassell:
“Tom-
Those are interesting questions but I confess ignorance in this area. I could be wrong but I believe colleges can award scholarships to anyone they please, particularly private schools, subject to eligibility requirement imposed by the schools, athletic conferences, and maybe the NCAA- at least for the time being. I don’t think that organization will be around much longer, at least not in its present form and with the current level of control we have seen up to now. I do not know what we will end up with but the myth of amateurism has clearly been exposed. And, of course, public colleges and universities have limitations peculiar to the schools and the laws of the respective states in which they reside.
To the extent that your questions ask what “should” be done, as in what is most fair, what is best for tennis, best for the young athletes, and do all agree it is desirable to favor U.S. kids? Is it a question of trying to prevent coaches from recruiting the best players regardless of their nationality? Is that a desirable aim? I don’t know enough about any of these problems as they relate to tennis to offer a useful opinion. Sorry.
We had a great show last Sunday after a brief shaky start from a quick cloudburst. Big crowd who seemed to like the music. Wish you could have been there.
-Pud”
*****************************
James Haslam:
“A FOREIGN PLAYER’S VIEW ON CAPPING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FOREIGNERS
I am from Tasmania, Australia and received a full tennis scholarship to Wake Forest University commencing Feb 1969. It was the biggest and best break of my life and I am very thankful to the ‘system’ that made it possible, and to Wake coach Jim Leighton, who not only was a marvelous man and tennis teacher, but, when I fell in love with teaching tennis, taught me how to teach the game, despite that being at the expense of my playing for him.
I have keenly followed the evolution of NCAA sports, in particular college tennis. I fully support the rights of college athletes to sell their services to the highest bidder, or in individual sports to earn and keep whatever prize money and endorsements they can. I believe a college athlete earning money in professional sports brings glory and recognition to the college and enhances alumni and donor contributions to the school, athletic & tennis programs.
I believe it may take a decade for the rules and regulations relating to NIL, transfers, athlete payments, to reach an equitable status. It has eliminated some of the hypocrisy of the NCAA.
I also believe that American education (part funded by American taxpayers) should first and foremost be for the benefit of American students. Also part of that education and college experience comes from intermixing with students from all over the world…that America in general has lately drifted too far towards isolationism.
College athletics should also be first and foremost for the benefit of American students.
I note that my sport, tennis, has the highest % of foreign scholarship athletes of any sport.
To reconcile the competing interests, I suggest that 50% of all tennis scholarships be reserved for American athletes. That the number of scholarships in tennis (whether athletic or need or whatever) be either 10 or 12; meaning the number of foreigners on scholarship be 5 or 6. A team or squad can be larger, but any extra spots go to Americans. A foreigner marrying an American after arrival and gaining American citizenship would, for the purpose of the scholarship cap, be classified as a foreigner.
I accept that some coaches will find loopholes in any system, will break any rule they think they can get away with, but it is the role of the governing bodies (ITA, NCAA, US Govt) to close loopholes and penalize rule breakers.
I have spent the past 26 years in retirement as a volunteer donating my time (50-60 hours per week) to tennis, about equally between Tasmania and North Carolina. The NC time is partially as thanks for the opportunities the US and Wake Forest afforded me, and partially for the American people who helped me along the way.
Sincerely
James G Haslam”
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Dan Parham – A Proposal to Invest in American Tennis:
THE REST OF THE STORY ( THE COMPLETE FILE )
One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
HELPING, PART 2 (108 page collection on INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS IN AMERICAN COLLEGE SPORTS PARTICULARLY TENNIS. )
o |
MATGA and AI
One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
NCAA/ FEDERAL LAWS ON
| Tom Parham <ethomasparham@gmail.com> | Wed, Nov 27, 9:34 PM (3 days ago) | | |
| to me | |||
XENOPHANES
The Greek Philosopher, commenting on life, concluded “…this shit ain’t easy. “
MARCUS FREEMAN- COACH
He said, ‘History is written by conquerors, and we’re holding the pen.’ … We believed that we could do it and we went out there and did it,”
There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, opinion columnist Thomas Friedman likened artificial intelligence advances to opening Pandora’s box. “We as a society are on the cusp of having to decide on some very big trade-offs as we introduce generative A.I.,” he writes. “And government regulation alone will not save us.”
One of these Pandora’s boxes is labeled “artificial intelligence,” and it is exemplified by the likes of ChatGPT, Bard and AlphaFold, which testify to humanity’s ability for the first time to manufacture something in a godlike way that approaches general intelligence, far exceeding the brainpower with which we evolved naturally.
The other Pandora’s box is labeled “climate change,” and with it we humans are for the first time driving ourselves in a godlike way from one climate epoch into another. Up to now, that power was largely confined to natural forces involving Earth’s orbit around the sun.
LOVE AND THEFT
Transcript KEN BURNS COMMENCEMENT AT BRANDEIS
– Brandeisian, love it. (audience laughing)
President Liebowitz, Ron, Chair Lisa Kranc,
and other members of the board of trustees.
Provost Carol Fierke, fellow honorees,
distinguished faculty and staff,
proud and relieved parents,
calm and serene grandparents,
distracted but secretly pleased siblings,
ladies and gentlemen, graduating students
of the class of 2024, good morning.
I am deeply honored and privileged
that you have asked me here to say a few words
at such a momentous occasion that you might find
what I have to say worthy of your attention
on so important a day in all of your lives.
Thank you for this honor.
Listen, I am in the business of history.
It is not always a happy subject
on college campuses these days,
particularly when forces seem determined
to eliminate or water down difficult parts of our past,
particularly when the subject may seem
to sum an anachronistic and irrelevant pursuit,
And particularly with the ferocious urgency
this moment seems to exert on us.
It is my job, however, to remind people
of the power our past also exerts,
to help us better understand what’s going on now
with compelling story, memory, and anecdote.
It is my job to try to discern patterns
and themes from history to enable us
to interpret our dizzying and sometimes dismaying present.
For nearly 50 years now, I have diligently practiced
and rigorously tried to maintain a conscious neutrality
in my work, avoiding advocacy if I could,
trying to speak to all of my fellow citizens.
Over those many decades I’ve come
to understand a significant fact, that we are not condemned
to repeat as the saying goes, what we don’t remember.
That is a beautiful, even poetic phrase,
but not true, nor are there cycles of history
as the academic community periodically promotes.
The Old Testament, Ecclesiastes to be specific,
got it right, I think.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again.
There is nothing new under the sun.
What those lines suggest is that human nature never changes,
or almost never changes.
We continually superimpose that complex
and contradictory human nature
over the seemingly random chaos of events,
all of our inherent strengths and weaknesses,
our greed and generosity, our puritanism
and our prurience, our virtue, and our venality parade
before our eyes, generation after generation
after generation. This often gives us the impression
that history repeats itself.
It does not.
“No event has ever happened twice, it just rhymes,”
Mark Twain is supposed to have said.
I have spent all of my professional life on the lookout
for those rhymes, drawn inexorably to that power of history.
I am interested in listening to the many varied voices
of a true, honest, complicated past
that is unafraid of controversy and tragedy,
but equally drawn to those stories
and moments that suggest an abiding faith
in the human spirit, in particularly the unique role
this remarkable and sometimes also dysfunctional republic
seems to play in the positive progress of mankind.
During the course of my work, I have become acquainted
with hundreds if not thousands
of those voices. They have inspired, haunted,
and followed me over the years.
Some of them may be helpful to you as you try to imagine
and make sense of the trajectory of your lives today.
Listen, listen.
In January of 1838, shortly before his 29th birthday,
a tall, thin lawyer prone to bouts
of debilitating depression addressed
the young men’s lyceum in Springfield, Illinois.
“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger?”
He asked his audience,
“Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant
to step the earth and crush us at a blow?”
Then he answered his own question.
“Never.
All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa could not
by force take a drink from the Ohio River
or make a track on the Blue Ridge
in a trial of a thousand years.
If destruction be our lot,
we must ourselves be its author and finisher.
As a nation of free men, we must live
through all time or die by suicide.”
It is a stunning, remarkable statement, one
that has animated my own understanding
of the American experience since I first read it
more than 40 years ago.
That young man was of course Abraham Lincoln,
and he would go on to preside over the closest this country
has ever come to near national suicide, our civil war,
and yet embedded in his extraordinary, disturbing,
and prescient words is also a fundamental optimism
that implicitly acknowledges the geographical forcefield
two mighty oceans east and west
and two relatively benign neighbors north and south
have provided for us since the British burned
the White House in the War of 1812
and inspired Francis Scott Key.
Lincoln’s words that day suggest what is so great
and so good about the people who happen
to inhabit this lucky and exquisite country of ours.
That’s the world you now inherit. Our work ethic
and our restlessness, our innovation
and our improvisation, our communities
and our institutions of higher learning,
our suspicion of power. The fact
that we seem resolutely dedicated to parsing the meaning
between individual and collective freedom:
what I want versus what we need.
That we are all so dedicated to understanding
what Thomas Jefferson really meant when he wrote
that mysterious phrase, “The pursuit of happiness”.
Hint, it happens right here in the lifelong learning
and perpetual improvement this university is committed to.
But the isolation of those two oceans
has also helped to incubate habits
and patterns less beneficial to us,
our devotion to money and guns and conspiracies,
our certainty about everything, our stubborn insistence
on our own exceptionalism blinding us
to that which needs repair, especially with regard
to race and ethnicity. Our preoccupation
with always making the other wrong
at an individual as well as a global level.
I am reminded of what the journalist I.F. Stone once said
to a young acolyte who was profoundly disappointed
in his mentor’s admiration for Thomas Jefferson.
“It’s because history is tragedy,”
Stone admonished him, “Not melodrama.”
It’s the perfect response. In melodrama,
all villains are perfectly villainous
and all heroes are perfectly virtuous,
but life is not like that.
You know that in your guts and nor is our history like that.
The novelist, Richard Powers recently wrote that,
“The best arguments in the world,”——and ladies
and gentlemen, that’s all we do is argue——
The best arguments in the world, he said,
“Won’t change a single person’s point of view.
The only thing that can do that is a good story.”
I’ve been struggling for most of my life to do that,
to try to tell good, complex,
sometimes contradictory stories,
appreciating nuance and subtlety and undertow,
sharing the confusion and consternation
of unreconciled opposites.
But it’s clear as individuals and as a nation,
we are dialectically preoccupied.
Everything is either right or wrong,
red state or blue state, young or old,
gay or straight, rich or poor, Palestinian or Israeli,
my way or the highway.
Everywhere we are trapped by these old, tired,
binary reactions, assumptions, and certainties.
For filmmakers and faculty, students and citizens,
that preoccupation is imprisoning.
Still, we know and we hear and we express only arguments,
and by so doing, we forget the inconvenient complexities
of history and of human nature: that, for example,
three great religions, their believers
all children of Abraham, each professing at the heart
of their teaching, a respect for all human life,
each with a central connection to
and legitimate claim to the same holy ground,
violate their own dictates of conduct
and make this perpetually contested land
a shameful graveyard.
God does not distinguish between the dead.
“Could you,”…
“Could you,”
A very wise person I know with years of experience
with the Middle East recently challenged me,
“Could you hold the idea
that there could be two wrongs and two rights?”
Listen, listen.
In a filmed interview I conducted
with the writer James Baldwin, more than 40 years ago,
he said, “No one was ever born who agreed
to be a slave, who accepted it.
That is, slavery is a condition imposed from without.
Of course, the moment I say that,” Baldwin continued,
“I realize that multitudes and multitudes
of people for various reasons
of their own enslave themselves every hour
of every day to this or that doctrine,
this or that delusion of safety,
this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example,”
he went on, “are slaves to a delusion.
People who hate Negroes are slaves.
People who love money are slaves.
We are living in a universe really of willing slaves,
which makes the concept of liberty
and the concept of freedom so dangerous,” he finished.
Baldwin is making a profoundly psychological
and even spiritual statement, not just a political
or racial or social one.
He knew, just as Lincoln knew, that the enemy is often us.
We continue to shackle ourselves
with chains we mistakenly think is freedom.
Another voice, Mercy Otis Warren, a philosopher
and historian during our revolution put it this way:
“The study of the human character at once opens a beautiful
and a deformed picture of the soul.
We there find a noble principle implanted
in the nature of people, but when the checks
of conscience are thrown aside, humanity is obscured.”
I have had the privilege for nearly half a century
of making films about the US,
but I have also made films about us.
That is to say the two letter, lowercase, plural pronoun.
All of the intimacy of “us” and also “we” and “our”
and all of the majesty, complexity,
contradiction, and even controversy of the US.
And if I have learned anything over those years,
it’s that there’s only us.
There is no them.
And whenever someone suggests to you,
whomever it may be in your life
that there’s a them, run away.
Othering is the simplistic binary way
to make and identify enemies, but it is also the surest way
to your own self imprisonment,
which brings me to a moment I’ve dreaded
and forces me to suspend my longstanding
attempt at neutrality.
There is no real choice this November.
There is only the perpetuation, however flawed
and feeble you might perceive it,
of our fragile 249-year-old experiment
or the entropy that will engulf
and destroy us if we take the other route.
When, as Mercy Otis Warren would say,
“The checks of conscience are thrown aside
and a deformed picture of the soul is revealed.”
The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid
of all opioids, an easy cure for
what some believe is the solution
to our myriad pains and problems.
When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved
with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction
and addiction, “a bigger delusion”,
James Baldwin would say, the author
and finisher of our national existence,
our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies.
Do not be seduced by easy equalization.
There is nothing equal about this equation.
We are at an existential crossroads
in our political and civic lives.
This is a choice that could not be clearer.
Listen, listen.
33 years ago, the world lost a towering literary figure.
The novelist and storyteller, not arguer,
Isaac Bashevis Singer.
For decades he wrote about God and myth and punishment,
fate and sexuality, family and history.
He wrote in Yiddish, a marvelously expressive language,
sad and happy all at the same time.
Sometimes maddeningly all knowing, yet resigned
to God’s seemingly capricious will.
It is also a language without a country,
a dying language in a world more interested
in the extermination or isolation
of its long suffering speakers.
Singer, writing in the pages
of the Jewish Daily Forward help to keep Yiddish alive.
Now our own wonderfully mongrel American language is
punctuated with dozens of Yiddish words
and phrases, parables, and wise sayings,
and so many of those words are perfect onomatopoeias
of disgust and despair, hubris and humor.
If you’ve ever met a schmuck,
you know what I’m talking about.
Toward the end of his long and prolific life,
Singer expressed wonder at why so many
of his books written in this obscure
and some said useless language would be
so widely translated, something like 56 countries
all around the world.
“Why,” he would wonder with his characteristic playfulness,
“Why would the Japanese care about his simple stories
of life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe 1,000 years ago?”
“Unless,” Singer paused, twinkle in his eye,
“Unless the story spoke of the kinship of the soul.”
I think what Singer was talking about was
that indefinable something that connects all
of us together, that which we all share as part
of organic life on this planet, the kinship of the soul.
I love that.
Okay, let me speak directly to the graduating class.
Watch out, here comes the advice.
Listen. Be curious, not cool.
Insecurity makes liars of us all.
Remember, none of us get out of here alive.
The inevitable vicissitudes of life, no matter
how well gated our communities, will visit us all.
Grief is a part of life, and if you explore
its painful precincts, it will make you stronger.
Do good things, help others.
Leadership is humility and generosity squared.
Remember the opposite of faith is not doubt.
Doubt is central to faith.
The opposite of faith is certainty.
The kinship of the soul begins with your own at times
withering self-examination. Try to change
that unchangeable human nature
of Ecclesiastes, but start with you.
“Nothing so needs reforming,”
Mark Twain once chided us, “As other people’s habits.”
Don’t confuse success with excellence.
Do not descend too deeply into specialism.
Educate all of your parts, you will be healthier.
Do not get stuck in one place.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice,” Twain also said.
Be in nature, which is always perfect
and where nothing is binary.
Its sheer majesty may remind you
of your own atomic insignificance,
as one observer put it,
but in the inscrutable and paradoxical ways
of wild places, you will feel larger, inspirited,
just as the egotist in our midst
is diminished by his or her self regard.
At some point, make babies. One of the greatest things
that will happen to you, I mean it,
one of the greatest things that will happen
to you is that you will have to worry,
I mean really worry, about someone other than yourself.
It is liberating and exhilarating, I promise.
Ask your parents.
Choose honor over hypocrisy, virtue over vulgarity,
discipline over dissipation, character over cleverness,
sacrifice over self-indulgence.
Do not lose your enthusiasm, in its Greek etymology
the word enthusiasm means simply, “god in us”.
Serve your country.
Insist that we fight the right wars.
Denounce oppression everywhere.
Convince your government, as Lincoln understood
that the real threat always and still comes
from within this favored land.
Insist that we support science and the arts,
especially the arts.
They have nothing to do
with the actual defense of our country;
They just make our country worth defending.
Remember what Louis Brandeis said,
“The most important political office is
that of the private citizen.”
Vote.
You indelibly…
Please,
vote.
You indelibly underscore your citizenship,
and most important, our kinship with each other when you do.
Good luck and godspeed.
NUTSHELLS
Longtime attache: Mr. Fields, why are you studying the bible at this late date?
W.C. Fields: I’m looking for loopholes.
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Next “click” on the age meter is 84. Still Looking! Last effort is from 12 RULES FOR LIFE (An Antidote to Chaos ) by Jordan Peterson. Chapter 7 is entitled “Chose What is Meaningful not Expedient.” Not simple reading or easy to “nutshell”.
The chapter concludes on page 201: Meaning is the Way, the path of life more abundant, the place you live when you are guided by Love and speaking Truth and when nothing you want or could possibly want takes precedence over precisely that. Do what is meaningful, not what is expedient.
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We required an “Exit Interview” for all teachers at Atlantic Christian College. I asked one question of Clifton Black, our first black basketball player. He was from a rural Eastern North Carolina town.
“How did you do so well athletically, socially and academically?”
“Coach, when I left Conetoe (home village) my Grandmother said, ‘Clifton Earl, you know the difference between right and wrong. Do right!’ That’s about it.”
BOOK REPORT (9 )
FALTER—Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
By Bill McKibben
“ Oh, it could get VERY bad ! “
*Author McKibben says the human game is won by staying alive and human.
*Problems and possibilities include climate change, leverage ( or greed) , artificial intelligence, genetic manipulation, and immortality. Enter solar energy and common sense: Thus hope.
McKibben, himself a leading expert on climate change, enlists support and comment from Yuval Harari , Jared Diamond. Stephen Gould, Steven Pinker, Malcolm Gladwell, and others of our best thinkers.
The Little Green Book of Tennis 