A Bid for Sportsmanship

The continued progress of the Olympic torch through town and city brings the nation closer to the start of the games and the global spectacle that will take place in London this summer. The games themselves have the potential to promote unity, inspire, excite and improve the economy..... well, in London at least.

It’s true that there are a small handful of other locations elsewhere in the country that will be used for various gaming events and these locations will no doubt benefit both economically and educationally. However, there are’nt many of these extra sites, the majority of events will take place in and around London and the South East. It’s not that I object to any towns or cities benefiting, but what I do have concerns about is the fact that we, the tax payer, were told that the entire nation would benefit economically, educationally and culturally. Given the billions of pounds that the event is costing us, at a time of so called austerity, it is well worth us asking how exactly the rest of the nation is going to benefit from such heavy investment.

It was this question that I pondered recently while attending a meeting with the head teacher of a school where I sit on the board of governors. During the meeting I asked the Head what directive had been given by the government to schools for promoting the Games and using them as an education tool to benefit the pupils. His response was “None”! This rather shocked and disappointed me especially as the Olympic Games in one’s own nation is a once in a lifetime kind of event and the idea of hosting the Games had been sold to the country as an amazing opportunity to inspire and promote sporting culture among our young people. In fact to quote Seb Coe, Chair of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games:

“London’s vision is to reach young people all around the world, to connect them with the inspirational power of the Games, so that they are inspired to choose sport”.

Clearly this “vision” is either not shared by government, or Seb Coe’s statement is a tokenistic sound bite used to aid those with other agendas.  In my view schools are the obvious choice as a vehicle for promoting and encouraging sporting culture among young people and yet the fact that such an obvious opportunity for inspiring our young people to choose sport has been overlooked or ignored, demonstrates that the true purpose of the games is not the promotion of sport but rather the opportunity for a small handful of individuals to make money. Despite this, my sentiment is that the nation as a whole gets a sporting chance to benefit from the Games if not economically, at least from the entertainment and excitement of watching our athletes perform to their full potential.

Just one more thing..........There has been a lot of talk this past week about news papers, government, double standards and corruption with not only the continuation of the Leveson enquiry, but also the government stance on the BSkyB deal currently under scrutiny in the House of Commons. One may think that not only has the weather barometer been pointing towards rain, but also the moral barometer too. Maybe some things do come in pairs!

Call of Duty or a Duty of Care

Those who know me will be aware that I enjoy the occasional hour or two of escapism on my games console, and so, recently I was perusing the shelves of a store that sells games. While standing there deliberating the kind of game that I might want to play I noticed something. Almost every game on the shelves portrayed either violence or destruction of some form or another. Those that did’nt tended to put what could be considered a negative slant on the gaming subject. In fact, there were so few games that appeared to be positive in nature I was able to count them on one hand. This got me thinking.

In society we are quite vocal in our expectations of young people to respect and value ,not just their fellow human beings, but also the natural environment around them. However, increasingly, research demonstrates that children between the ages of 5 and 16 spend an average of six and a half hours in front of some form of electronic screen (BBC,2015). Couple this with the fact that the average North American child will witness approximately 200,000 acts of violence viewed through the screen they are looking at by the time they reach 18 (Kids Health, 2016) and it might be fair to say we have a recipe for disaster. In fact, there is now a sufficient enough number of longitudinal studies evidencing a significant connection between the playing of violent video games during childhood and increased aggression in adulthood (JAMA Pediatrics, 2014). So, if we - the adult world - decide it's ok to market violence, death and destruction to children from a young age, how can we expect anything other than violence and destruction when they start to conduct their life as young adults.

There’s something hypocritical in the fact that we as a society, on the one hand, utter words of complete disbelief and exclamation at youths who commit horrific acts such as the gang rape of a young girl or the stabbing of an elderly gentleman in order to steal his medals, but then don’t seem to have a problem with our children and young people playing video games that promote this kind of aggressive behaviour and certainly don’t petition against it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against games consoles. I believe they have their place in modern society and can be used in a balanced way to encourage learning, personal development and positive recreation. There are some very clever and well conceived games out there that are of a much healthier nature than those which encourage the user to carry out ‘car jacking’ and the mindless killing of innocent people.

I feel this is fast becoming a community issue that poses a serious question.  As a so called 'developed society', are we willing to endorse, allow or encourage the use of morally and ethically corrupt gaming to continue to impact negatively on the development of our young people, and watch as each generation of society gets sucked further down into the gutter, or do we start taking responsibility for the consequences of virtually unchecked production of such damaging material by making a stand and demanding a higher standard for the next generation?

Just one more thing........ This week I have been somewhat bemused at the fact that my 2007 version of Microsoft Office is no longer supported by Microsoft updates. Unsatisfied with this state of affairs, I went to a local IT support shop to get some advice!! The young guy behind the counter looked at me in utter disbelief and exclaimed "that's ancient mate, you've got no hope!". Now I officially feel old!

The Future is Bright!!

And so, it starts. A new year. A fresh start, or for some, a leap into the unknown. There are those who say that in 2012 we are set for a very bumpy ride both at home and abroad. Whether speaking economically or geographically the general prognosis appears to be one in which the future looks grey. So, does that mean we should just give up and hide away somewhere. I say no!!

It’s true, there is high unemployment, increased homelessness and turmoil in our public services. However, all of these things provide us with the opportunity to show our true potential as compassionate, sympathetic and concerned human beings. I see 2012 as an opportunity to shine brightly and demonstrate those attributes and qualities that really should separate man from beast. Whether it’s a neighbour in need, feeding the homeless or just a simple smile, we have the ability to help others rise above the worst blows that life may deal. 2011 environmentally was one of the most destructive since records began. It started out with devastating floods in Australia, a destructive earthquake in New Zealand, a catastrophic tsunami in Japan (followed by nuclear meltdown), one of the worst tornado seasons on record for the Mid West United States, an earthquake in Turkey (more devastating than New Zealand), severe flooding in Thailand and seemed to finish with global economic crisis (this is before we even consider the uprisings and ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East).

I believe that we have within us the same determination, tenacity and fighting spirit that has brought the world through the horrendous situations 2011 presented. In fact, I believe that, in the words of a Japanese tsunami survivor “We must rise up above the worst we have experienced and make ourselves taller and stronger because there will always be disasters that are bigger than before and each time serves to prepare us for the next time so we can overcome!”

Just one more thing........ Have you ever noticed at Christmas time how silent the debate on carbon footprints becomes. Ironic when one considers how much more electricity is used for decorative lighting. As hard as it is to swallow, maybe we should face up to the fact that while a large chunk of mankind feels it can afford to celebrate with such extravagance at this time of the year, planet earth cannot afford the same luxury.