This is something I wrote when the government shutdown was going on, it is still relevant today though with how we act.
I hear much debate concerning
whose fault it is about how the government is running right now. Is it the
democrats fault, or the republicans? The republicans are the ones who are being
so stubborn according to some people, and yet according to others, the
democrats are the ones who won’t budge. Personally, I am thankful the
republicans are standing their ground, but that is a whole other discussion. Ultimately
though, I hear people ask, “How did we come to this?” Look at some of these statistics from USA Today. Out of 62 schools, the average salary of a
college basketball coach is $1,465,752, with the highest being the coach of
Duke with a salary of $7,233,976. Out
of 116 schools, the average salary of a college football coach is
$1,598,359, with the highest being the coach of Alabama with a salary of $5,476,738. Let’s shift over to those in the
government now, the following are their salaries.
- President: $400,000
- Vice President: $231,900
- Speaker of the House: $223,500
- House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: $193,400
- Senators and Representatives: $174,000
- Chief Justice of the United States: $223,500
- Associate Justices of the Supreme Court: $213,900
- US Courts of Appeals Judges: $184,500
- Federal District Judges: $174,000
You probably wonder how sports and
government have anything in common. Consider this, what kinds of people always
make more money, or succeed in moving up the totem pole in business? Those who
give the people what they want. In
school, I learned the way to attract business was to appeal to the people. What
are the current trends? What draws people in to your location? That is what
helps you make it big in the world. I
used that knowledge to figure this out. How is it that college coaches can make
so much money, yet those in government make so much less when they are the ones
whose responsibility it is to echo our desires for America, and make laws that
greatly affect our country? Personally, I think being in the government is more
important and takes more responsibility than a coach. But as I learned, the
money goes where the interest of the people is. For the record, no I am not
saying that being a coach isn’t important, or takes no responsibility. I loved
my coach, she was one that both pushed us, yet taught us good sportsmanship. That
does take a special person. But government is a different kind of
responsibility, and can have even greater impact.
As
you ponder the points above, let’s look at what we remember most growing up.
What was always the big hype every year? Sports was the main event, even during
holidays when the family would get together, we always had to have the game on
for others. Look at kids, how early do organized sports start? They say it’s to
teach sportsmanship and teamwork, I think they can learn that at home with
their siblings, or at camp with other kids later. Ultimately, parents are
supposed to teach that! I know in the
stands, parents can get more hyped up about the game than the kids do. What do
the children learn by seeing the actions of their parents? Sports are very
important, they are cause for fun and entertainment between people, yet can
also cause people to get heated up and yell at each other. In the end, this is what riles people up the
most, and that is why coaches get paid so much more money. Fast-forward to high
school now, what are always the big events? The weekend school games and
homecoming! How much emphasis and importance are put on these? Well, a $60
million high school football stadium was built recently in Texas if that gives
you any indication. I remember growing
up seeing the nightly news and a time allotted just for reviewing the scores of
the night. There will be people in the stands cheering on their team, and then
school band performs a score during halftime to rally the stands. On the other hand, how much attention is
given to those who perform well academically? Not much compared to sports. While parents and adults are proud of those
who are great with learning, the kids don’t treat it as nicely. The honor students are many times seen as
nerds and outcasts.
I love sports, I always itch to
play another game of volleyball, I played for 7 years, and I often wish to be
on a team again to play competitively. I
was always excited and happy to have my parents come watch, and support what I
loved. I am glad that parents show so much support for what their children love
to do also, for I know how much it helps to have that. There has to be a
balance though. Parents also have the responsibility to teach their children to
have love for God, love for their country, and love for their fellow man. Where
our priorities lay show in the amount that coaches get paid in comparison with
the government. The state our country is in reflects how much attention we give
to what is going on in our nation. It is OUR fault. Don’t blame the democrats,
don’t blame the republicans, and don’t blame our president. We let it get this far by not educating
ourselves about how the government worked, not thoroughly investigating each
individual before we voted, and not taking action when we first saw it getting
out of hand. Sports are merely one example of what can be a distraction, but it
can be anything in the entertainment industry. Other distractions are music,
television, fashion, and ways of making money, just to name a few. Our founding
fathers risked their lives to be free of England and start a new country; it is
our responsibility to keep it how they wrote it at the beginning. How do we get
it back to the way it was?
I have been talking much about
what our focus needs to be on, and that is what needs to change. It is easy to
lose focus and go back to what feels good and what is easy. God, family, relationships, work,
government…it all takes work to keep it running smoothly. It is essential
though. God actually didn’t want His people to take a king in the Old
Testament, but the Israelites insisted, so He let it be. God knew that it is
easy for the power to take hold of a person and how they can turn tyrannical.
That is what happened too. Nations having kings continued on until we rebelled
against England. Our constitution was meant to have a balance of powers so no
one person had supreme power, and the power was to the states, not the federal
government. The current state of affairs has it backwards, and it is our job to
turn that around. I know it isn’t easy, it will be a long process and seem
hopeless at times, but never back down. If we took the easy route in 1776, we
would still be under the rule of England. Never think you can’t make a
difference. Begin by teaching children what is really important. If we put as
much importance on teaching our children about God and government as we do with
following sports and television, things could be a lot different.
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