“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.“
-John F. Kennedy
I’ve come under a lot of fire recently for what my friends and co-workers have been calling my lack of patriotism, lack of gees (spirit), and general World Cup hate. I’d like to take this chance, on the eve of South Africa’s biggest moment in the spotlight since Nelson Mandela walked out of prison, to speak objectively about how I feel about all of this. Maybe it’ll make some of you think a little differently about it, though it’s not my aim to try and change your mind. I’m going to do it in two parts.
Part One – On Patriotism
It’s not my intention to bash my country, or football, or anybody who is interested in football. It’s all great – don’t get me wrong. It’s a cool thing for any country to host, and it’s nice to see everyone in a nation that is usually rather divided come together for a single purpose.
As I write this here in London, there are just about as many South African flags as their are English football flags. It’s nice to see, but there is something about all of this that bothers me – and has bothered me ever since the hype really started to get going, well over a year ago.
It might seem odd that I began with the epithet by Kennedy. I wholeheartedly disagree with it. While the world is divided into nations, I believe that it is the governing bodies of those nations’ duty to serve those who live within its borders in the most unobtrusive way possible, while allowing the greatest possible civil liberty, and still providing social justice and infrastructure.
That, in my opinion, is the sole purpose of the state. The state should never intervene in the private lives of its citizens – it should have no moral impact whatsoever on how those citizens choose to live their lives, and as little financial and civil impact as possible. I take a lot of my views from Robert Nozick, whom I realise is unpopular these days.
As a counterfoil to Kennedy’s iconic soundbite, I would like to offer this quote:
“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it”
-George Bernard Shaw
I was born in South Africa, and I have lived there for most of my life. I am not an expatriate - I’m only in London temporarily. But I’m glad to be here right now, and not there. Originally this was just because I saw most of the World Cup shenanigans as an inconvenience. There is still no public transport aside from an unreliable train service (which I used to use daily) and hazardous or expensive taxis in Cape Town. Daily life and mobility for citizens there will become difficult. But that’s not the main issue.
My main issue is that we are all expected to suddenly be really stoked about being South African, and give a massive floating shit about how we perform in the World Cup. Part-and-parcel of this, sadly, seems to be making those who do not share the national enthusiasm feel ashamed of their lack of spirit.
Personally I am fairly neutral about my country. It has been good and bad to me. It is where my friends and family live, and is an enjoyable place to live some of the time, but not others. Public service is in a sad state, as is public transport and a number of other things people in the first world take for granted. Crime is a constant worry, and this is something that a lot of people who have never lived elsewhere don’t seem to realise: there are places in the world where you do not have to lock your doors at night.
I myself have been a victim of crime several times, and once in quite a traumatising way. I have struggled with inept social services, government infrastructure, racial inequality (yes, I’m white – we get it a lot too) and the educational system. However, England has its own problems that citizens gripe about every day. That being said, here’s a little graphic showing the number of murders in South Africa versus the United Kingdom last year:
My point is simply that there is no special reason to privilege your country. It is something we are taught is right and good and proper – but it is entirely arbitrary. I am South African purely by accident of birth, and for no other reason. I could just as easily have been born anywhere else in the world. Since there is no particular reason I was born in South Africa, I see no particular reason to get more excited about South Africa than anywhere else. In fact, there are a great many countries that, as objectively as possible, are “better” places to live than South Africa, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.
It is much like the majority of Ugandan citizens feel that it is appropriate that people found guilty of homosexuality receive prison sentences, or even the death penalty (in the case of homosexual sex with a minor). A lot of people there (and they must exist because laws don’t happen when everyone thinks they’re a bad idea) believe in this as wholeheartedly as we believe that our country deserves our support when we’re playing a sport against another country.
Don’t get me wrong: I love my home. But I love it in the way I love my dog, or my favourite bar. It’s familiar, comfortable, I get my drinks cheap and they know me there.
Take, for example, the vast number of South Africans who support English Premier League football teams. Most of these people have never been to Chelsea, or Liverpool, but fervently support them to the point of getting into physical fights with supporters of rival teams. They drive around with their team’s slogans on their cars, and sink into deep depression and drunkenness when their team loses. How these people decided to arbitrarily support one team over another has always escaped me.
It makes them happy, so good for them. But I see no more reason to support Chelsea than I see to support South Africa in World Cup soccer. I probably care more about South African rugby – not that I’m fond of rugby, but I do know the game better and once played it a little, so it’s slightly more familiar. But I can’t say I even watched the last Rugby World Cup final. This brings me to:
Part Two – On Football, and Sports in General
Most people like sports. In fact, I very seldom meet someone who doesn’t like at least one sport, and most people like most of the popular sports on TV: cricket, rugby, tennis, football and even baseball or American football. But this is not something we are born with. I usually find it difficult to explain to people that I do not follow any sports. I was forced to play just about all of the above throughout high school.
I was never very good at any of them, and that could be for many reasons. I was not naturally athletic, but neither are a lot of people who enjoy sports. I simply had little interest, and received even less encouragement. When that’s the case, it’s very unlikely you’ll develop any skill in, or affinity for, something. It’s just like Accounting – I was fine with maths and physics and chemistry, but I just didn’t like Accounting. I gave it up at the earliest opportunity. I found it frustrating and discouraging, and my teachers did little to help that. It’s no wonder I dropped it at the end of grade 10.
The same goes with sports. What I want to point out is that there is nothing wrong with not caring about sports. It might seem unusual to most people, but it is perfectly natural to me. I enjoy Formula One, because I like cars and strategy. I like boxing because I enjoy the primal spectacle of two people engaging in a purely physical contest. But that’s about it.
My point is this: I do not care that much about the Football World Cup because I don’t like football. I never have, and see no reason to start trying to enjoy it now. I wish I could make people understand that. It’s a massive media event, and completely in everybody’s face right now, and that’s why it seems like such a big deal to people that I’m so disinterested. But when the World Maths Olympiad is on, nobody except those quite closely involved care about it (not that I’m one of them – it’s just an example). The whole world doesn’t suddenly become mad about Maths and start supporting their favourite mathlete.
I don’t like Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. I don’t like ‘Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night’ by the Black Eyed Peas, despite mainstream media’s massive attempts to persuade me that these things are cool. I’m just not buying. Maybe it’s my anti-establishment stubbornness, maybe it’s just a matter of taste – but I like to think it’s because my parents, friends and teachers have been the type of people who taught me from a very early age to think for myself, and decide whether I liked something on my own and the basis of its merit, rather than try to fit my taste to what is most easily accessible. I put football in the same category. It’s something a lot of people enjoy, and that’s cool.
A lot of the things I like are not enjoyed by a lot of people. I like to tell people about bands I like, places I enjoy, etc, but they are usually not well-received, because they are often quite different from what is most prevalent. It’s because I tend not to listen to the radio or watch a lot of TV, and rather seek out entertainment based on my own tastes and the recommendations of like-minded friends. The World Cup is extremely popular, and easily accessible. It doesn’t mean you have to like it, but it’s a lot easier to like it than to not like it.
And that is purely down to marketing. Specifically, marketing budgets. More money is being spent on this than any one person can actually comprehend. From FIFA’s official budget, down to the improvements made by cafe owners to spruce up their bars in preparation for the crowds. FIFA will make a massive profit from this event, and South Africa will make a net loss – this is well-known.
Where there is money, motives are never clear. FIFA claims to be doing it for the benefit of the sport, and that may well be true. But one cannot ignore the fact that this is primarily a business venture, and that the target market is the entire world. You see ads about it all over the place; on TV, on the radio, all over the interwebs, and pasted up next to your office water-cooler.
There is no escaping it, and you have only two choices: fit in or fuck off. Like it or lump it. I’ve tried to get excited about it. I really have. But I would be lying to myself if I pretended that I was. I will watch the opening game and the final, and some in-between, because they will be enjoyable social events. But I cannot bring myself to summon enthusiasm for one team winning over another.
I have a great many interests, but this is not one of them. It is my hope that my friends, and my readers, will understand this – if not agree with it or support it. We are not all created equal, with the same likes and dislikes, and to me it is entirely natural to have no interest in the Football World Cup. Maybe there are others who will read this who feel the same. It doesn’t matter if there are or not, though.
I wrote this so that those who berate me for having no national pride, or just for being a grump, might understand that there are different ways of seeing this whole thing. I wish I could go back in time and tell fourteen year-old me that there is nothing wrong with having little interest in sports, and that it is no crime not to enjoy something in which the vast majority take so much pleasure.
Everyone is different. In a time when the world comes together to support their countries, and take pride in being on the same side, I feel that it is important to remember this. If your horse prefers orange juice over water you can shove its head in the lake as much as you like but it won’t take a drink. And I am that horse.
Yours
Norman Conquest
No related posts.
I agree. There’s nothing wrong in not liking the World Cup, or any sport, object or media perceived cool “thing” for that matter. If you’ve objectively looked at it, and decided it’s not for you, no one has a right to question that. Those that do are purely attempting to validate their own view by showering you with negatives. “There must be something wrong with you if you don’t like x” is a common fallacy, and says a whole lot more about the person making the statement than the one they are making the statement about.
I have a measure of disgust in the Cape Town stadium. The costs versus the benefits it will bring simply cannot be explained. There is a lot of talk of legacy around this tournament. What legacy? A white elephant on Green Point common will be one. But improvements in this country, no. Siphiwe from the township might learn how to play soccer and be donated an officially branded Fifa soccer ball, but how does that help him be educated? Treasury happily forks out R3billion to cover the bloated costs of the stadium, but the provincial government can’t ask for more cash to build enclosures for toilets in Khayaletsha?
The World Cup is a bet made by the country, in a “sure we’ll lose money now, but who else might it encourage to travel here in the future” kind of way. But that comes at a high price. And from what I can gather it’s being spent just to prove a point. “You westerners said Africa couldn’t do this, well look at us now”.
The feelgood factor, I’ll admit, is contagious and I think you need to be here, not in London, to experience it. Especially yesterday, when everyone stopped what they were doing, went outside and blew their vuvuzela’s like crazy. It was great. But 60 minutes later everyone was back at their desks, getting on with things. Shortlived feelgood moments do not justify the unnecessary expenses of this tournament. And they are shortlived – a great sense of national pride generated by large tournaments tends to last only a year (see http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/south-africa-forecast-not-so-rich-but-happier). We’ve seen this before, in 1995.
Thanks LT. I’m glad somebody understands it. The costs are worrying, I agree. I also object to the fact that the money has been spent only on the ‘outward-facing’ aspects of the country – accommodation, stadiums, entertainment, etc – and not on the things that matter to its citizens.
Just imagine if every cent of that money had been poured into improving basic services, or tax breaks for low-income families. Sadly, though, it takes something as polarizing as a world cup to focus that kind of government expenditure, and so if there was no world cup, that money would have evaporated into every nook and cranny government could find.
Public transport is my main gripe. Sure we have a Gautrain now, but that only helps those travelling between the city centres and the airport, not those who have to get around the city on a daily basis. The domestic railway in Cape Town is still as abysmal as it’s ever been, and I feel sorry for any foreigners who think they can use it to get around.
As that freakonomics post does point out, there are few economic benefits, but the feel-good factor is something to be noticed. The point it makes, though, is that it only lasts about a year.
I still dream of a world in which merit determines popularity, and not the other way around. This, I feel, is the heart of my argument. I view the World Cup in the same way I view ‘Tonight’s Gonna be a Good Night’ by the Black Eyed Peas. It’s not popular because it’s good – it’s seen to be good because it’s so popular.
-Likes this-
Wrote this on FB but wanted to add one more paragraph at the end:
Could this come down to a difference in values? You do not value group cohesion (particularly at the national level) as much as those who find the World Cup exciting. They find it exciting primarily because it brings so many people together, and they can identify themselves as part of it in some way (the teams they support).
Have you noticed … See morehow people say “We won!” or “We lost!” even though they did nothing and it was a team of people they have zero influence over who won or lost? They identify with the group (we enter murky psychological territory when we consider the people who say “We won!” but “THEY lost!” about the same team
.
While I’m sure you can appreciate those feelings, and feel the same way too (albeit to a lesser extent), your other values likely take higher priority. In this case, you clearly value your independence and individual preference more, as do I. This is why you say that there are so many more ways to live: because there are considerably more options as an individual than as a group.
Do you remember that article I posted about people with “secure” and “insecure” attachment styles? It’s the same thing. Evolutionary it makes sense that some people prefer to be part of a group, and that others prefer to be independent. Neither is better per se, but they are such opposing perspectives on values that it can be difficult for the two groups to understand each other.
(There is an argument to be made here that people enjoy the strategy and athleticism etc. of sports and that it’s not just about group cohesion, but I disagree: all of these popular sports involve huge groups of spectators banding together. Chess has arguably more refined strategy any any modern sports game yet people don’t head to the pub to watch it; it’s not about athleticism either if you consider that nobody goes to the bar to watch gymnasts. It’s far more primitive. It’s appears to be more about being part of the tribe and invigorating yourself with their blatant display of raw energy.)
Jesus Christ guys. It’s just a game that a lot of people take enjoyment out of. No need to read so deep into things! And on that note too… “Siphiwe from the township..” not only is that a stereotypical and slightly patronising name to pluck out of the air, but what makes you think that Siphiwe has taken no enjoyment out of watching the World Cup in his country!? A lot of people underestimate just how happy the poor are to have this tournament in South Africa regardless of whether it impacts their lives or not.
OK, a better representative than Siphiwe could have been chosen, we agree.
I feel it is deeply necessary to read so much into it – and a big reason for this is because nobody else seems to be doing so.
Firstly, it’s great for everyone in SA that the world cup is happening there, but the original point made by LT is that the economic benefits for the lowest-income earners in the country will be negligible, and it’s deplorable that they have been lead to believe that SA will benefit financially and structurally from the World Cup. It is clear the main, and possibly only tangible, benefit will be emotional.
Secondly, there are some people who take great pleasure and comfort from being part of the biggest group around. There are others that find this unpleasant. It’s nothing to do with your originality or your free spirit or how punk rock you are – some people are just like that and some aren’t. I was having a really hard time feeling like I was one of the only people who wasn’t excited about it, and I was getting really annoyed with the blanket responses of ‘you should like it, everyone else likes it, stop being a grump and just go enjoy it’, when it just wasn’t in my power to do so.
So of course I thought a lot about it, and I made a lot of effort to try and make my thoughts clear.