Newsday (New York)
November 8, 2009
November 8, 2009
Most of them are gone now. They fought in hellholes like Normandy, Dunkirk and Guadalcanal. Some never came back. Some who did were missing limbs and eyes. All who came back would never be the same.
They came back to a grateful nation and were justifiably rewarded with a march down the Canyon of Heroes.
Then there are the Yankees - no doubt heroes to millions of their adoring fans. They are grown men playing a child's game. Most of them make more money in a day than their fans earn in a year. Their insane salaries push the price of tickets beyond the means of most of their fans.
And yet, on Friday they too went down the Canyon of Heroes. By rewarding the Yankees exactly the same as our returning war heroes, we give the mistaken impression that somehow their deeds are of equal value. This is outrageous. The Canyon of Heroes must be exclusively for soldiers returning from overseas combat. Our returning veterans once were hailed there. It is sacred ground.
Dr. Bruce Topol
Lynbrook
Lynbrook
Posts
5 comments:
Of course it's no a "real" canyon. It's made from steel and bricks. Real canyons r carved from stone.
The World Series is sacred as well, yet we let Joe Buck and Tim McCarver announce the games, and intersperse video montages with DJ Hero and some blue-looking cats from some James Cameron movie?
I would assume that a reasonable person would be able to differentiate war heros from sports heros; the use of the same venue, I feel, is of no significance whatsoever. Kind of like showing Casablanca and Plan 9 from Outer Space in the same theater.
Michael's point about the sacred nature of the World Series is well taken - only the resurrection of Mel Allen and Russ Hodges would satisfy me (...well, maybe Scooter too).
FanSince'48
Gyros are not the same as heroes?
What about hogies, subs, and grinders?
If you actually walk through the Canyon of Heroes and read the names on the sidewalk, you'll notice it's served both purposes for many decades. I fail to see what the problem is.
Post a Comment