The Moral Equivalent of War?

The Moral Equivalent of War?


The great William James once may have  called Football 

"The Moral Equivalent of War"

but if so,that  was long before, 

today's professionalized game 

and therefore it was no shame

though  it's not entirely clear if  he really  said it all. 

Still,what he meant was,  for better or worse,

we all need a sense of purpose. 

But these days, though its mano a mano may  be  far from dull

it's hard to find something moral   about treating one's skull

like a neglected and   beaten dish rag

instead of keeping it safely  within Nature's  protective bag.

And  those amazingly athletic   games will later  seem less  nifty

if  you can't even  remember your own  name at fifty. 

HzL

2/26/16

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Tw\\

The faces of an NFL generation, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady shake hands after the game.  Chris Humphreys, USA TODAY Sports

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