Loyal football fans make uninformed voters Re: “America was not built on football mania,” Nov. 14
Janine Turner is right on the money. I have noticed another negative result of America’s love affair with sports. Fans transfer their thinking about sports to politics.
This results in the attitude that the only thing that matters is that “my team” wins. So voters stick with their “team” no matter what it does. Even when they have little good to say about its current members, their loyalty remains intact.
I often work as an election official and I am simultaneously amused and horrified to see how many voters come in clutching the “Sample Ballot” that was handed to them by a party representative outside and follow it carefully as they cast their votes. They obviously couldn’t be bothered to find out who the candidates are, much less anything about them. But they show up to vote for their team.
Until we manage to get Americans away from a sports mind-set, I think we can expect politics as usual.
Donna Kepler
Arlington
Ultimate Frisbee rules are not SOL-worthy
Fairfax County Public Schools requires students to take written physical education tests on things like “the history and rules of Ultimate Frisbee.” Students are forced to expend brain energy to study and memorize this malarkey. PE, a graded subject, also affects a student’s grade-point average.
Supporters of subjects like PE, art and music are seeking to protect their budgets by being declared Standards of Learning subjects. While there is nothing wrong with knowing any of this cocktail trivia, this information belongs in high school “elective” classes, maybe even on a pass-fail basis.
Our priorities are askew. We have kids who come to the United States and never learn to speak English fluently, kids born here who can’t write or spell well, and we have to import math and science experts to fill tech jobs. Businesses complain about missing skills in new entrants to the work force.
Unfortunately, a “lack of knowledge of Ultimate Frisbee rules” is not one of them.
Lisa Ross
Annandale
Obama’s first priority is getting re-elected
After a two-year delay in addressing rising unemployment, President Obama finally campaigned for his jobs bill. But his rhetoric and position remained unchanged, and we heard nothing more than “You’ve got to pass this bill” — which went down to defeat in the House.
Our president also refused to pay attention to the negative recommendations in granting Solyndra $535 million. The company went bankrupt and 3,000 jobs went away. But Obama has not supported 22 bipartisan job bills that are still sitting on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s desk.
Just the other day, Obama delayed the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas until after the 2012 elections, thus eliminating some 20,000 potential jobs to please the unions and environmentalists. This delay clearly shows that Obama cares more about his re-election than addressing the needs of America’s unemployed.
Jacquelyn Wilson
Whispering Pines, N.C.
