Imagine if we conducted sports the same way we conducted politics, how boring they’d be (of course some of them are pretty boring anyway)?
Two boxers compete once every 4 years for the title (there’s only one title), the same two contenders who’ve competed every 4 years… for the last 2 centuries. The other contenders are handicapped so they have virtually no chance of posing any significant challenge to the big two. They literally tie one of their arms behind their backs. It just so “happens” (or is it by design?) the two are twin brothers, like the klitschko brothers. Their style and substance is virtually indistinguishable. The only way you can tell them apart is by their boxing trunks, one is colored red and the other blue, one has a symbol of a lion and the other has a symbol of an eagle.
The two boxers grow weaker, older and more complacent as time goes by, so much so they no longer even fight, really, they let each other win. Every 4 years the lemmings line up to place their bets. Who will win, klitschko or klitschko… hmmm, I don’t know for sure, but my money’s on klitschko, I always root for the “underdog”.
Overtime, the fans begin to argue over and identify more with the colors and the symbolism than the fighters themselves, inventing a popular mythology about them. My klitschko is the lion, he represents brute strength, ferocity and majesty. My klitschko is the eagle, he represents swiftness, tenacity and insight. Some philosophers even have abstract debates and discussions about what the emblems mean, and how the entire universe itself can be divided into Vladimir and Vitali klitschko. They say Vladimir is water, oranges and deserts, they say Vitali is unicorns, oak trees and meteorites. It would seem as though the fate of the entire universe hinges on which side one aligned oneself with. Then along comes some weirdo who suggests that it’s possible to like oranges and unicorns… and you know what we do with those people.
Human race, is this the best you can do?