It's how you play the game
By GARY TOOLE
During the '50s -- that's the 1950s, not the 1850s -- when I was just a lad of a boy we were told and believed and practiced the traditional philosophy that, "It's not whether you win or lose, but rather how you play the game."

Then cam the smart alecks that sarcastically said, "Yeah, yeah! Right! Tell that to the loser!"

Then came the rebellious social revolution and the upheaval of all that was good during the late 1950s into the 1960s and since then morals have rapidly declined and violence is growing worse and worse. Murders in schools. Violence everywhere. All the fundamental traditional beliefs have been questioned and deemed as outdated and out of sync with the times.

Traditional values since the 1960s have been denounced and made fun of. The golden rule is mocked and "It's how you play the game" is called stupid and replaced with "Win at any cost" -- and that's what it's been. Cost! Big, big cost! Amen!

Violence even in Little League with parents is on the rise. Fights and arrests of parents. In a lot of cases it's not bad children. It's bad parents and it's getting worse. They are calling it an epidemic of obnoxious violent parents that are ruining youth sports. A species called "Parentis vociferous (pa-ren-tis vo-ci-fe-rous), definedas the loud, critical ill-mannered parent unable to restrain himself or herself is on the rise.

Even a few preachers and socalled Christians go mad at these sports events. That's why back in the late 1800s and up until mostly the late 1950s some church groups didn't believe in letting their children play sports and go to the ball games. It was considered worldly and come to think of it, the way it's looking from a moral standpoint to some folks, it still is.

Now, back then they were not talking about a little friendly game of sock ball out in the cow pasture. That was a few socks with something stuffed in the middle and a plain old straight board or tree limb for a bat. In some places it was getting hard to findadults to be referees at youth sports events. There have been a lot of lawsuits because of fights ending in severe injury.

What drives some of these parents is a desire and need for their child to be the best, hoping for a scholarship and hoping they will end up rich and famous. Who knows?

No matter what, from a Christian prospective it should still be our philosophy that we teach children, "It's not whether you win or lose, but rather how you play the game of life!" Can you say amen?

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