Today's my birthday, but I just felt compelled to deliver a rant instead of some cheer. Sorry, I just felt I had to get this off my chest.
As many of you are probably aware in the sports world, the NFL just came off a long lockout. This basically means that a bunch of pampered athletes threw a hissy fit about their already outrageous salaries and how they were probably going to be lessened in some manner. God forbid these guys embrace the reality of a disastrous economy that many millions of people face daily, not just in this country but in many others as well. Nope, instead of actually caring about anything else besides their precious bank accounts and a world devastated by various diseases and epidemics, they'd rather bitch and moan about how much money they make. And it's not like they're starving either; Even the lowliest of players makes well over 6 figures.
Main complaint is how incredibly unfair the pay scale is towards athletes, that while are extremely athletically gifted, are really just overpaid entertainers, and the majority of people with real jobs that actually provide legitimate contributions to this country.
I'm talking about how unfair and unjust it is that people like Policemen, Teachers, Firefighters, and EMTs/Paramedics make so much less money for their invaluable services. It's a disgusting world we live in when athletics are more prized and seen as more important than those who routinely contribute so much of themselves such as risking their lives for such little pay. And while this massive problem has go on for long while, nothing's changed. The rich stay richer, and the poor stay woefully and hopelessly more poor.
I don't mean to say that athletes shouldn't be paid, or paid less than nothing. But why can't they be payed more appropriately? Come on, face facts. They're entertainers; they get paid to make us forget about our daily problems for a few hours. But does that mean they should get paid more than a teacher that actually does something more important, like oh say, teach and shape future generations? Should a baseball player be paid more for simply being able to hit a ball so many hundreds of feet or throw a ball really far and really fast over a cop who routinely risks his very life for hardly any pay and benefits?
I'm sorry, but when was the last time you ever heard of a Football player curing Cancer or AIDS by simply making the winning touchdown, or a Basketball player ending poverty and famine by sinking a 3-pointer? That's because it doesn't happen. Sure, various athletes contribute some of their time and money to fund-raisers and various organizations, and that's great that they do that. Trust me, that's the lest they could do. But with all the millions they make, you'd think they could do more. Again, I'm not trying to attack or shit on all athletes. They do provide a useful service as they serve to entertain us. But the major emphasis on athletics over education and community service, i.e. protection and disease treatment/prevention is just absurd and just plain sad. Shit like this is why the U.S. routinely ranks so low when it comes to test scores and basic education. Check the statistics, we pretty much come almost dead last. And for a country that's supposed to be a 1st rate super-power, that just plain embarrassing.
It's way past time we made the pay scale more equal along the board, and actually devote some much of those millions that are just floating around towards increasingly dwindling salaries for teachers and cops. If things were more equal, then you could actually see athletes doing what they do for the true love of the sport, rather than the 6 or 7 figures they stand to make. That would just be the beginning of fixing things, but it at least it'd be an honest start.
But then that's just my opinion, what do I know about the real world?
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