I lived
in the Boston area for the first 28 years of my life. One of the joys or perhaps
curses of that experience was becoming a Boston Red Sox fan during my youth. I
could ride to Fenway Park for fifteen cents and get into the bleachers for
fifty cents and watch players such as Ted Williams, Dom Dimaggio, Bobby Doerr,
and Johnny Pesky. Bobby Doerr was my hero. He wasn’t flashy or controversial.
He took the field every game and did his best. An authentic professional.
I continued to be a faithful fan, with
occasional lapses, for 59 years during which the Sox would get our hopes up
only to collapse during the second half of the season or during the post-season
games. The phrase “Wait till next year” became an annual expression of unjustified
optimism. The most devastating collapse occurred in 1986 when Bill Buckner let
a slow groundball trickle through his legs in the tenth inning of the sixth
game of a World Series with the New York Mets. There were two out, the Sox had
a 2 run lead and needed only one more victory to become World Champions of
baseball for the first time in 68 years. The Mets went on to win that game and
the series.
Over the
years I concluded that there must have been something in the water that either
infected my brain or modified its structure and kept me engaged with a team
that disappointed with regularity. Perhaps I have masochistic tendencies that
have not been uncovered by therapists yet.
But then
in 2004 after 86 years, those decades of pain and loyalty were rewarded, as the
Sox became World Champions. They repeated again in 2007 and all was right with
the world. I could wear my team cap with the Red B with pride and satisfaction,
not feeling inferior when encountering a Yankee fan.
During
the 65 years of following the Red Sox I have learned how to handle serious
disappointments without slipping into despair or worse depression with a
tendency towards suicide to end the pain.
Along
with the Red Sox bug in the water was another molecule that gave me a
predisposition to liberalism. Fortunately, my experience with the Red Sox and
the strength and resilience I learned were helpful this week when the voters
chose a Republican replacement for Ted Kennedy’s seat in the senate.
This was
a Bill Buckner event. A sure out and victory in sight while the ball dribbled
slowly into the outfield.
But this
is not baseball and the consequence of failure is more dire. Health care reform
is now in doubt. The Red Sox will begin spring training next month with hope
and optimism and memories of last season’s disappointment will quickly fade.
But if
health care reform fails, the human cost will be tragic. Thousands of people will die this year
because of lack of access to reasonable care. Tens of thousands will be forced
into bankruptcy because of the burden of excessive health care costs. People
will be denied insurance because of preexisting medical conditions and others
will have their coverage cancelled in midst of a struggle with serious illness.
The high unemployment rate means that many more families are losing insurance.
Premiums will continue to outpace inflation.
Politics
is not a game. Governmental failure has consequences in people’s lives.
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