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NASCAR can not help but remind progressives of the Americanism they detest

A non-fan of NASCAR in praise of NASCAR



It was widely reported that First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden were booed at the NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway held on Nov 20, 2011. At least some fans chose to boo them. There was actually much cheering for the pair too, as can be attested by listening to the clip on YouTube. Evidently many NASCAR fans do not believe in academia's idea of freedom of speech which means booing off the stage anyone who disagrees with your agenda. Nevertheless a few NASCAR fans voiced their displeasure to what has happened to the country they love. What followed of course were invectives on the part of the progressive cultural elites about the "inbred, racist, ignorant, red necks who watch NASCAR". This got me thinking about NASCAR's role as a sport, actually its unique role as a sport.
I live in the People's Republic of New York, where being called a Socialist is the ultimate accolade, a badge to be worn with honor like the Hammer and Sickle medal. Now, being a NASCAR fan here is not a crime against the collective like uttering the phrase "traditional marriage" without sarcasm or, Marx forbid, voting Republican, but it does raise suspicions that perhaps one does not sufficiently appreciate the moral superiority of collectivist versus criminal individualistic capitalistic societies. Many admire Stalin, Castro and Kim Jung II's socialist paradise. These politically correct people are found on college campuses in abundance and where ever sophisticated cultural elites gather, but at NASCAR events- probably not so much. All good progressives know that the first rule of being a progressive is to blame the United States for all of Gaia's ills from anthropogenic global warming, or rather the now ideologically preferable term "anthropogenic climate change", to the continued existence of the apartheid Zionist entity. There are still, however, a few who believe the United States is and has always been a force for good, indeed mankind's greatest accomplishment and greatest hope. Who believe America's history is a saga of glory, not shame. Who believe in capitalism and the rights and value of the individual, who famously cling to guns and religion. And NASCAR events seem a likely place to find such individuals, a few of whom evidently booed when Michele Obama and Jill Biden were introduced.

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Interestingly the cultural elites of New York who view NASCAR and its fans derogatorily, also insist that not appreciating soccer is an indication of how backward the United States is. I don’t know if soccer is especially in tune with the sensibilities of a collectivist genocidal state. i.e. a progressive state. I do know soccer does produce scores at about the rate that a workers paradise produces goods for its slave labor. Socialist societies produce economic worth like soccer produces goals, in comparison free enterprise produces economic worth at the rate of points in an NBA all-star game. We must also remember that soccer evolved, if you pardon the word, from kicking around the severed heads of enemies. And severed enemy heads are in vogue in large parts of the world today, and among those progressives consider allies. We are not far from public beheadings in Britanistan, perhaps followed by a spirited soccer game, with the biodegradable "ball", melding the traditions of both the displaced and new rulers. In truth, New York progressives are as bored to death by soccer as most Americans, but seem to feel that because the unwashed American masses do not appreciate soccer, while politically correct countries do, soccer must have a Marxist beauty to it, which they need to pretend to see. A beauty it takes a sophistication to grasp, the same way it takes a PhD in art to appreciate the nuances that make an elephant dung smeared canvas art, just as it takes political sophistication and formal college education to fully appreciate that Cuba and Venezuela are among the freest countries in the world and Hamas are freedom fighters. I can not say I’m a NASCAR fan. While there are exceptions, people generally follow the sports they grew up following, for me that means baseball and football. I’ve watched NASCAR races a few times on the Speed Channel and its not so much that they are boring as that I have no rooting interest. I have never been interested in individual sports, as I never could figure out why I would root for one competitor over another. Jerry Seinfeld was correct in his brilliant routine on team sports when he said "You're actually rooting for the clothes when you get right down to it." I've rooted for the succession of players who have worn the Yankee and Giant uniforms since Mickey Mantle and Y.A. Tittle. As an evolutionary psychologist. I know that we root for the "home" team because we have evolved cognitive mechanisms to support our tribe due to the survival benefits this provides. On a nonconscious level we are compelled to treat our favorite sports team as "our tribe", even though on a conscious level we know it is made up of overpaid mercenaries who have nothing to do with us or even our city. By some measures, NASCAR is second in popularity only to football among sports in the United States, although in New York City you would be hard pressed to prove it even exists. But NASCAR is fundamentally different from football, baseball, and basketball. NASCAR compares to other sports the way the scientific method compares to chess. Both science and chess require the exercise of intelligence and straining the human brain to its limit. But when the chess match is over, the pieces go back into the case with no permanent change, no progress, no tangible accomplishment. Science produce progress, real change which betters all our lives. Many of the features that make current cars safer and more fuel efficient without sacrificing power, such as disc brakes, shoulder seat belts, steel cages surrounded by crumple zones, better tires, lighter weight engines, and aerodynamic car designs, owe at least in part their genesis and development to NASCAR racing. And I know readers who are NASCAR fans or car enthusiasts can think of quite a few more NASCAR contributions to everyday cars. It may seem strange that a sport employing and creating cutting edge technology is favored by people at best "stuck in the past" but then again it must be noted that progressives view technological progress as Victorian male rape of Gaia. Other sports benefit their fans only by providing enjoyment, refuge from everyday problems and a (false) sense of superiority when their teams win. NASCAR has provided tangible benefits to all fans and non-fans who ever rode in a car. The taking in to account practical reality and competition producing progress which benefits all, these features of NASCAR can not help but remind progressives of the Americanism they detest.


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Dr. Alexander Nussbaum -- Bio and Archives

Dr. Alexander Nussbaum has had articles in a number of magazines including articles on intelligent design and on the history of statistics and is a contributor to a personality textbook


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