The Soul of Osaka

Naomi Osaka is the closest thing the sports world has to a Greta Thunberg, or a Malala Youssafsai. And they do not know what to do with her. Try listening.  

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To understand Russia's Putin, spend some time reading up on Josef Stalin. In the 1930s, the Pope sent an emissary to Russia to encourage Stalin to treat his christians better. Stalin asked the emissary, "Ho many (army) divisions do the Pope have?" Putin is not only a Stalin disciple, he wants to be Stalin.  

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Donald Trump recently asked one of his close advisors if there was a chance that he could be reinstated as President of these United States. This Trump is a marvel of the modern world: A grown man who still believes in the tooth fairy.  

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Lebron James, with four NBA titles under his belt, is the league's premier politician. He religiously stays on good terms with all of the league's other great players. He sees each of them as a potential teammate who could help him surpass Michael Jordan's six NBA titles. 

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There was a time, in the 70s, that I worked in rehabilitation at the Kalamazoo County Jail. From time to time, we'd ask our charges, "Do you want to look good, or be good?" It is still a question we each should ask ourselves. And, while we are at it, we might each want to ask, "Do I wan to work, or do I just want to get paid?"  

If this is the "great nation" it presumes to be, we, as a people, must get both questions right.  

Iron Domes: They Sure Do Work

We watch the Palestinians lob primitive rockets into Israel only to have 90% of those rockets blunted by Israel's "Iron Dome" anti-missile system. Then we see the Israelis return fire - missiles, artillery, smart bombs. Two hundred dead Palestinians to ten dead Israelis. Yet, the Palestinians continue to swing back. If you wonder "why?" then you've never really fought; you've never really faced a bully and committed your soul to standing up to him. 

The Palestinians exist in a 13-square-mile concentration camp called "The Gaza Strip." They are born into this captivity. A land, sea, and air blockade governs their entire lives. You might call it Israel's "other iron done." (Speaking of "iron domes": The two million Palestinians clinging to life in the Gaza Strip equals the number of men and women kept in America's prisons.)

America, which considers Israel one of its closest friends, condones Israel's human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, even as the world community objects. It appears we do not care as much about people's "living free" as we pretend. But, we like those "iron domes." They sure do work.