Mel Gibson and Me.

Mel Gibson is an incredibly talented filmmaker and actor. I still love to watch the movie Payback every few months. Okay, I do admit Lucy Liu playing a Dominatrix has something to do with my repeated viewings, but Mel is good in that movie also.

It can be assumed that Gibson has more money than he ever dreamed of when he first came to us as Mad Max. He has enjoyed and endured fame for decades and also, apparently battled the bottle. Gibson has probably had it all and now struggles emotionally, as a lot of us older guys do, with finding some semblance of balance to all that has gone on in our lives. No one gets past five decades without making a lot of mistakes, putting a load on one's conscience and doing some damage to ourselves and others. Some call it life. If one lives dynamically, meaning taking chances, pursuing dreams, not settling for less....then they have the scars to show for it. They also have a dilemma later in life. The dilemma surrounds the question, "what do I do now." I know this question well. Recently I received a very generous gift card and lamented that there was nothing that I really wanted to buy with it. I have thought about buying another motorcycle, but I always think older guys look foolish just going out on their bikes and riding around with no destination or purpose in mind. I've had pretty much every type of car I ever wanted to own and, Lucy Liu aside, there is nothing I haven't' done with or to a woman that haven't wanted to do.

So, once again, the dilemma. How does an older guy who has lived fast and hard, entertain himself. Mel dumped the long term wife and tried the younger Russian trollop route. No surprise that apparently she was in for the kid and the long term child support payment from the wealthy older guy. What did he expect true love from this bimbo? No I suspect that Mel is at sea. He has too much money, too much experience and way too much time on his hands. He is having a hard time entertaining himself, so he drinks to fill in the hours, gets angry and rants. He rants at the frustration that comes with fulfilling one's dreams and having little or no desire left. It also comes with the fact that with age and experience comes something that is quite insidious and evil; the truth. Mel probably has a good handle on what people really are and how the world truly is and neither is very appealing. Those who are young and idealistic like to think there is hope for mankind and for the world, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. Having plied his trade in Hollywood, Mel has seen first hand the evil that is man when there is money to be sniffed. He has seen the backstabbing, the greed and the manipulation. Is it any wonder that Mel seems to hate most everyone? He has seen how people use their status as Jews, black, women to try to gain advantage or excuse bad behavior.

Mel to a large extent is being vilified because his in vino veritas is something that most have a very hard time with, so instead of daring to acknowledge his behavior and statements as being reflective of the society we live in, most prefer to revile him. Talk to me about the relationship that has not had heated arguments with malicious, slur-filled comments. Talk to me about the one person out there who has not stereotyped a race, a creed, a color, a nationality, a fat person or a woman. Talk to me about the one person who has not gotten drunk and acted the fool. Or how about anyone given some power and privilege who has not tried to exert it.

We all like to condemn bad behavior, bad language and bad thoughts, yet we are not anxious to admit that we are all guilty of each of these. I saw Jesse Jackson on TV talking about how the owner of LeBron James former team was analogous to a slave owners. The same Jesse Jackson who referred to New York as "hymie" town and kept a secret mistress and love child for years.

I like Mel Gibson as an actor, always have. I also like him as a person, a flawed person who isn't pretending to be something he is not, ala Jesse Jackson. Instead of reviling those who reveal themselves, perhaps it is time we should more closely examine those who would organize the crucible and see what attitudes hide within.

The LeBron A Thon

Before the advent of free agency in professional sports athletes were "owned" by the teams that drafted them or acquired them through trades. Player rosters would change a little year to year, but for the most part, teams stayed intact. Alas, the realities of the economics of professional sports led owners to concede that if they wanted to continue to operate in light of television-fueled revenues they would have to share the pie and allow players some freedom to move from team to team and cash in on their value.

Over time the stakes have risen to the point where now a player with the skills and market value of a LeBron James can now plan for their own future, determine what team they want to play for and cut the best deal they can. James is not a villain for abandoning his home state and heading for South Beach, he is the beneficiary of the realities of what professional sports, and even amateur sports have become; big, big business. Who can fault this gifted 25 year old, or anyone else, for that matter who recognizes that they are a commodity and should get as much as they can, while they can.

Professional athletes are unique, to say the least. Having played sports all of my youth I can count on one hand the number of players I shared a field with who ever made a professional roster. We are talking a minute percentage of individuals who have the skill and luck to make it through the sifting process and persevere. Even if one gets to the "show" they are still confronted with the specter of injury and competition from below. The athlete that plays professionally into their mid thirties is an anomaly. Most athletes have relatively short careers and pay the price later in life in the form of pain and often crippling injuries.

Whenever I hear someone bemoan the high salaries of these spoiled superstars I suggest that they go to the nearest batting cage and try to lay the wood on a 90 mile an hour fastball from the pitching machine. Now imagine that the ball darts at the last hundredth of second or that the next pitch changes speed dramatically. Whatever these players get they deserve.

Don't feel any sorrow for the ownership of these teams. Most professional sports franchises are owned by savvy business people and corporations who understand that for every dollar they pay a player of Jame's caliber they are going to make several in return. If a stadium sells out to twenty thousand fans at an average of $50.00 per ticket that is one million big ones. Now add in concessions, parking, advertising revenue, TV rights and such and it is not unusual to estimate that a successful NBA team can gross in excess of 150 to 180 million a year in revenue. All of a sudden the sixteen million or so that James will be paid seems like a bargain. Also consider that sports franchises appreciate in value, especially for those fortunate enough to own their own stadiums.

Of course fans are the pawns in all this. Hungry for distraction and relief from the realities of life, most of us enjoy following a favorite team and partaking in the soap opera that evolves from season to season. Living in Chicago and being a life-long Cubs fan, no one knows sports soap opera better than I. As a kid I was awed by the Cubs. I followed them religiously, memorized player stats and couldn't sleep the night before my father would take me to games at Wrigley Field. Sadly, we all grow up and as adults should realize that our allegiance is to a corporate monster that masquerades as something cute and cuddly like a Cub. I haven't paid for a Cubs ticket in fifteen years and only attended games in recent years when someone gave me tickets. I don't buy foam fingers or replica jerseys and unless the team is in contention and playing well I find other ways to spend my time.

James, like a lot of athletes serves a higher purpose if one wishes to observe. Like Tiger Woods, James has shown us the reality, pulled back the curtain, and given a good object lesson about life. I see sports now as having little value except as intermittent diversion and an open forum about human nature on the fringes. I will observe with keen interest the fallout from James decision to go to South Beach and how he will deal with the wrath from the venues, especially Ohio, that he has spurned. He has, indeed, pulled back the curtain and showed us that he is no wizard and that he would rather live in Oz than head back to tornado stricken Kansas. We can thank him for not perpetrating the fraud that he somehow cares about his people and his roots. As in the case of Tiger Woods, we are given ample evidence that to excel at professional sports it takes a lot of self -love and a Godzilla-sized ego. These are not role-models except to the extent that they do provide a model of how to succeed in the greed governed world of business, me first, take what you can when you can. James hollow gesture of donating advertising revenue from his "decision" show was pathetic. Woods televised mea culpa a laugh riot. As an adult I can now appreciate that the curtain has been drawn back to the point where we all know there is no Oz. There is little pretense here, the truth is out. Instead of acknowledging the losers on ESPN in the decision derby, James could have just given us all the finger and his public image could not have suffered more. Here's your role model, long live the King. I can imagine it is only a matter of time till Tiger, unable to change his strips, ala OJ, is in the tabloids again snaking around with some guttersnipe or pole dancer.

Yes, the truth is out there, thanks guys for the sports entertainment.

Monopolize This!

As a child growing up I would accompany my mother on daily excursions to the local grocery store or to the clothing store or the pharmacy. All were within walking distance in the small community where I lived and were owned and operated by local residents. The shoppers and merchants were on a first name basis and good service and quality products were a given.

One day news came that a large grocery chain was going to open a branch store in our village. Every Friday night, payday for my father, we would load into the family car and go shopping at the National Food Store. Half the village was there shopping and collecting their green stamps which could be exchanged for merchandise once enough stamp books were filled. Next came a K-Mart, then one of the large oil companies opened a service station in town. The final blow came when a huge shopping mall was opened only a few miles from our house. One by one the locally owned businesses disappeared as shoppers gravitated to cheaper prices, greater product selection and more convenient venues. Gone also was the personal service.

There was one bank in my hometown. All the people that worked there lived in our village and everyone banked there. My math teacher moonlighted as a teller. There was always free fresh coffee, pastries and cookies set out for the customers. Bringing children in to open their first savings accounts was a ritual that was celebrated by all. Issues with one's mortgage were discussed and resolved and foreclosure was never a concern.

The grade school I went to was staffed by village residents. Student discipline was never a concern for teachers since the teachers all socialized with the students' parents. Any behavioral issues got resolved quickly, lest the parents find out and suffer the embarrassment of their child being labeled a trouble-maker. Parent-teacher conferences were mandatory and everyone participated in the PTA and school activities.

I imagine my childhood was not unlike that of most my age. There was a network in these villages that served to unite the community. Children, in effect, were raised by the village, ala Hilary Clinton.

I mention all this because I suspect that a great deal that is wrong with this country stems from the fact that our lives are now firmly controlled by very large corporations that have no sense of responsibility when it comes to their patrons. Corporations exist to make money for their shareholders and that doesn't often comport with providing personalized service to customers. From our groceries to our banking to our gasoline purchases we are dealing with Orwellian images, not human beings. The employees of these corporations are faceless and often have only an employee id number or a made up name in the case of overseas call centers. Those who are in charge of running these corporations are detached from the masses and care little for societal concerns or what is morally appropriate.

My little town bank was long ago gobbled up by a conglomerate and no longer offers coffees and treats to its customers. If I was to go there today and asked to open a savings account they would probably stare at me in disbelief. Who saves? How about a nice CD at .5% interest! The local school has now been divided into a grade school and a middle school. I doubt that any of the teachers there even live in town or would recognize parents if they ran into them at the Walmart.

The larger and more distant corporations become the less human they become. But for the threat of lawsuits, I doubt that any recalls would be made or product safety considered. More often than not businesses will refund or exchange because it is more cost efficient that not doing so. It has nothing to do with good will and customer satisfaction. Employees seldom talk about their jobs with pride.

Recently the Wall Street banks were labeled as too big to fail. I submit that big is a failure. It is a failure of the spirit that helped this country grow into something quite unique. Now instead of reputation it is one's wealth and possessions that seem to matter most. Capitalism is a wonderful thing except when it evolves into a system of wealth acquisition at the expense of morality and trust. When one merchant or service provider raises prices it creates a small tsunami that ripples throughout the economy. That is why virtually no one in my generation actually owns a house without a mortgage. See if you know someone who isn't making payments on a car that isn't ten years old. I often see people use credit cards to buy groceries and cringe. There is a high school that I know that has over 4000 students.

I see the economic meltdown in this country as the natural progression of what happens when big replaces small and conscience disappears from the deal. Does anyone really think BP cares about those affected by the oil spill other than how it will affect their share price. What is up with Pay Day Loan Stores that can charge 500% interest? Usury statutes were there to protect us from our own greed. Now the big banks have lobbied those out of existence. When was the last time you heard the word anti-trust? You think the teachers at that high school care about the throngs of students they see every day whose parents are non-existent.

The politicians have walked hand-in-hand with big business for decades now. The constituents they represent are the ones on their donor list, not the one's struggling to try to find a job or pay a mortgage. So you can't really expect to get any help from them. What passed for health insurance reform was only the latest homage to the insurance lobby, camouflaged to send them millions of additional customers and more government money than they could have ever hoped for.

I was driving today down a major commercial highway by my house and taken by the number of "For Rent" signs in vacant windows. Whether the politicians or the corporation CEOs know it or not there is change on the horizon. That change is going to come and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. The more unemployed there are, the more the government is going to have to fund unemployment and subsidize jobs through the public sector. Eventually there won't be enough workers to pay the taxes necessary to fund the operations of government. We already see this on a state level. Illinois is one of many states that is functionally broke and can't pay it's bills, fund it's pension obligations and finance its schools.

Yes, change is coming. The other day I watched a Tale of Two Cities on DVD. I suspect the time is near when the masses will be storming the Bastille and heads will roll. It is just a question of how much the masses will put up with before they pick up the pitchforks and torches.