The canary is wheezing. - For several months now I've been troubled by things happening in the realm of the arts and sports here in America.
It's my observation that these two areas (though there are other areas as well, like politics) of society not only influence but also reflect the current track that the society is treading. One feeds the other, so to speak, but these two areas are lesser than society as a whole and are therefore bellwethers in regard to the condition of any culture.
That said there are a few things that I find very troubling and what specifically has been gnawing at me for several months is the area of cheating and how such a thing has become tolerated and even acceptable in sports and the arts.
The most glaring example for me is the New England Patriots who were caught several months ago cheating in a game against the New York Jets. There was a day when such an act would have resulted in the forfeiture of a game and the suspension of a couch for a set period of time. I believe that in the case of the Patriots it would have even been wise to cancel out all their wins leading up to that game for this season. I even recall that there was some disgruntled talk from other teams from years past that the Pats were using less than sportsmanlike conduct and it just happens that they got caught this time.
And now the Pats have swept their season and done what no other team has done since the Dolphins so long ago. They accomplished it by cheating their way there. And you would think that there would be a hounding by the MSM, that supposed watchdog for society, but they have done nothing but sit back and toss lauds upon the coach and team.
Instead, Coach Belichick is given the honor of being the Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. Apparently the honor is because Belichick perfected the Patriots.
I guess the lesson we are to take from this is that, Cheaters always win, and winners always cheat. Surprising to me is how quickly the whole episode was buried by the press. The punishment of the fine really means little to a team flush with cash in a business where sportsmanship is a word many of the players and staff couldn't define on a multiple choice exam.
Of course the NFL isn't the only offender. There's the NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, caught altering games and the Baseball scandals of 2007 with players shooting up steroids and all manner of play enhancing drugs.
Worth reading on the subject is:
BILL SPELTZ: Somewhere, Pete Rose is smiling.
and
Rick Johnson | CHEATERS WIN: Just ask Roger Goodell and the Patriots.
So that's sports. But apparently cheating is now encouraged in the arts as well. I'm referring to the recent spate of Toyota commercials that at their heart encourage insurance fraud. Some may say that commercials don't qualify as "ARTS" but I make the supposition they do because creativity is involved in their making. Indeed the film medium is artistic in many ways and many a writer and filmographer will argue that point. Putting together a twenty to thirty second film that catches attention, holds it, and cements itself in the viewer's mind requires a great deal of finesse and creativity.
The commercials I'm writing about are the ones that show Toyota owners finding ways to get rid of their current Toyota vehicles so that they can purchase the newest models. One commercial shows a family pushing a boulder off a cliff onto their vehicle. Another shows a crane operator dropping and I-beam upon his Toyota.
Certainly these commercials are done with humor in mind, but at the heart of the commercial is that the owners will be able to collect insurance money that will allow them to get the newest model. That is fraud. And such a thing, like cheating in the sports arena should not be winked at because it slides a terrible message to our children and the rest of society on what is acceptable behavior.
Apparently one insurer finds the commercials troubling:
Bruce Mohl | Insurers complain ads from Toyota incite fraud:
State and national insurance officials say a Toyota Motor Corp. ad campaign is encouraging viewers to commit fraud....
...."No one believes that these commercials alone will entice car owners into criminal behavior," Jay wrote in a blog on the group's website. "But there is a growing body of research that suggests an environment that tolerates acceptance of unethical behavior does influence some people to act unethically. And these commercials add to that negative environment."
The tip of the cheaters ice berg, so to speak, for me was the mother in Texas who lied (cheated) to get four round trip tickets to a New York Hannah Montana Concert.
If you don't know about that, the essay contest was put on by a company that sells pre-teen clothing and accessories. The mother helped her six-year-old write her essay which began with the lie that her dad died in Iraq.
In this particular case a reporter actually questioned the mother and found out it was a lie and the store gave the tickets to another. But as I recall there were several days of hand ringing in which it was questioned in the media just what would should be done now with the tickets since the lie was in the open. Well, excuse me, you call a lie a lie right away and don't honor the contest.
Thankfully in this case the mother issued an apology. But the evidence continues to mount that integrity is a foreign concept to our culture.
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