- Sep 22, 2013
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Cal Ripken (Jr.) is the celebrated and honored retired American professional baseball player (who played for the Baltimore Orioles). Ripken is considered to be the 'Iron Man' of baseball, having broken a record during his career for most consecutive games played (without injury or illness or scandal).
Donald Trump is the finance-minded president-elect, a baron of capitalism who decided to become a politician in this new age of profit-networking gauged politics (e.g., European Union, NATO, etc.).
These two are the diplomats of modern America in many ways, so here's a comic book stylized Batman (DC Comics) diary-entry about these two historic figures.
Do you feel good about America?
====
"December 3, 2016:
Growing up on the streets on my own is what inspired me to become an urban vigilante, looking at the glaring developing problems in American culture and society such as profiteerism and the crime syndicates they generated in traffic-symbolic bordertowns such as Tijuana (Mexico) and populism-hyped cities such as New York and Gotham.
I saw the Red Triangle Gang come to power in Gotham, running narcotics and black market munitions for ISIS and the IRA. The Red Triangle gang is led by a neo-fascist named Ra's al Ghul who believes direct intervention through grassroots-power plays is the way to reseize America from the grip of traffic hysteria. I don't think Ra's is incorrect, only sometimes fanatical, and now that he is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, I'm using his comments on modern social political philosophy to frame ideas for more inclusive dialogue about the contributions of all members in this new age of capital-sensitive democracy.
I'm a big fan of Duke University Blue Devils men's college basketball. They won the national title in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015, tying Indiana University's Hoosiers and therefore joining the ranks (UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana) of teams with the most NCAA men's basketball championships. I remember when Duke had to overcome the challenges posed by the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 1991, the Kentucky Wildcats in 1992, and other potent teams such as Arizona, North Carolina, and Wake Forest on their way to becoming an iconic college sports team in America.
I think about Duke in the 2000 season, when they were anticipated to win the tournament but were upset and had to wait until the 2001 season to win their next national championship. In that 2000 season, Duke was being paired (by sports writers) to the very gifted and surprising Iowa State Cyclones team (led by forward Marcus Fizer and guard Jamaal Tinsley). Duke lost to Florida, and Iowa State lost to Michigan State in the NCAA tournament that year, and Florida and Michigan State went on to compete in the finals. The Blue Devils and the Cyclones were stellar that 2000 season. Duke was led by the talented forward Chris Carawell.
Duke's Carawell and Iowa State's Fizer would have made for an intriguing NCAA finals match-up, but it never came to pass. However, I thought about the social respect Duke had earned by that season (having already won 2 NCAA men's basketball titles and countless ACC titles) and the strange upstart excitement Iowa State had generated in the field that year. To me, Duke represented the dominant paradigm (and traditions) in America, and Iowa State represented the future potential of American youngsters seeking to change America with radical but intelligent ideas. I thought, 'If sports can generate such idealistic social analysis, why can't we use sports to make people feel better about capitalism?'
Sports is plagued (like any other industry/enterprise in America) by profiteerism corruption (e.g., free agency troubles, steroids, etc.). However, the Baltimore Orioles 'Iron Man' legend Cal Ripken (Jr.) is widely-considered to be the toast of American virtue as it pertains to America's competitive spirit. Americans love baseball, since it makes us feel 'better' about capitalism, so an esteemed player such as Cap Ripken makes people feel better about America in general. So I started comparing Cal Ripken to newly-elected finance-minded U.S. president Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, a 'capitalism baron,' decided to try his hand at politics in this new age of profit-gauged politics. This makes him a perfect 'history foil' for the esteemed 'competition-diplomat' Cal Ripken! Ripken is the angel to Trump's devil. Ripken espouses teamwork and sportsmanship, while Trump has campaigned on the American sensibilities towards rugged individualism and profiteerism focus. Ripken and Trump are therefore 'twin-towers' of this new age of American philosophy. So how can we use these 'twin-towers' to discuss the parameters of power-realms of troublesome characters such as unscrupulous tycoons, unethical athletes, and biased social leaders in this new democracy?
This is my new challenge as America's Internet-blogging vigilante. I want to understand how the Ripken-Trump duality informs our understanding of the proper balancing of capitalism ambition (the competitive spirit) with democracy homeostasis (the humble heart) in American culture and society. This will be my banner or 'call-sign' for Arkham Asylum advice and civics management! This is what I will tell GCPD commissioner Jim Gordon, and this is what will save the American city --- self-evaluative psychology!"
====
Donald Trump is the finance-minded president-elect, a baron of capitalism who decided to become a politician in this new age of profit-networking gauged politics (e.g., European Union, NATO, etc.).
These two are the diplomats of modern America in many ways, so here's a comic book stylized Batman (DC Comics) diary-entry about these two historic figures.
Do you feel good about America?
====
"December 3, 2016:
Growing up on the streets on my own is what inspired me to become an urban vigilante, looking at the glaring developing problems in American culture and society such as profiteerism and the crime syndicates they generated in traffic-symbolic bordertowns such as Tijuana (Mexico) and populism-hyped cities such as New York and Gotham.
I saw the Red Triangle Gang come to power in Gotham, running narcotics and black market munitions for ISIS and the IRA. The Red Triangle gang is led by a neo-fascist named Ra's al Ghul who believes direct intervention through grassroots-power plays is the way to reseize America from the grip of traffic hysteria. I don't think Ra's is incorrect, only sometimes fanatical, and now that he is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, I'm using his comments on modern social political philosophy to frame ideas for more inclusive dialogue about the contributions of all members in this new age of capital-sensitive democracy.
I'm a big fan of Duke University Blue Devils men's college basketball. They won the national title in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015, tying Indiana University's Hoosiers and therefore joining the ranks (UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana) of teams with the most NCAA men's basketball championships. I remember when Duke had to overcome the challenges posed by the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 1991, the Kentucky Wildcats in 1992, and other potent teams such as Arizona, North Carolina, and Wake Forest on their way to becoming an iconic college sports team in America.
I think about Duke in the 2000 season, when they were anticipated to win the tournament but were upset and had to wait until the 2001 season to win their next national championship. In that 2000 season, Duke was being paired (by sports writers) to the very gifted and surprising Iowa State Cyclones team (led by forward Marcus Fizer and guard Jamaal Tinsley). Duke lost to Florida, and Iowa State lost to Michigan State in the NCAA tournament that year, and Florida and Michigan State went on to compete in the finals. The Blue Devils and the Cyclones were stellar that 2000 season. Duke was led by the talented forward Chris Carawell.
Duke's Carawell and Iowa State's Fizer would have made for an intriguing NCAA finals match-up, but it never came to pass. However, I thought about the social respect Duke had earned by that season (having already won 2 NCAA men's basketball titles and countless ACC titles) and the strange upstart excitement Iowa State had generated in the field that year. To me, Duke represented the dominant paradigm (and traditions) in America, and Iowa State represented the future potential of American youngsters seeking to change America with radical but intelligent ideas. I thought, 'If sports can generate such idealistic social analysis, why can't we use sports to make people feel better about capitalism?'
Sports is plagued (like any other industry/enterprise in America) by profiteerism corruption (e.g., free agency troubles, steroids, etc.). However, the Baltimore Orioles 'Iron Man' legend Cal Ripken (Jr.) is widely-considered to be the toast of American virtue as it pertains to America's competitive spirit. Americans love baseball, since it makes us feel 'better' about capitalism, so an esteemed player such as Cap Ripken makes people feel better about America in general. So I started comparing Cal Ripken to newly-elected finance-minded U.S. president Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, a 'capitalism baron,' decided to try his hand at politics in this new age of profit-gauged politics. This makes him a perfect 'history foil' for the esteemed 'competition-diplomat' Cal Ripken! Ripken is the angel to Trump's devil. Ripken espouses teamwork and sportsmanship, while Trump has campaigned on the American sensibilities towards rugged individualism and profiteerism focus. Ripken and Trump are therefore 'twin-towers' of this new age of American philosophy. So how can we use these 'twin-towers' to discuss the parameters of power-realms of troublesome characters such as unscrupulous tycoons, unethical athletes, and biased social leaders in this new democracy?
This is my new challenge as America's Internet-blogging vigilante. I want to understand how the Ripken-Trump duality informs our understanding of the proper balancing of capitalism ambition (the competitive spirit) with democracy homeostasis (the humble heart) in American culture and society. This will be my banner or 'call-sign' for Arkham Asylum advice and civics management! This is what I will tell GCPD commissioner Jim Gordon, and this is what will save the American city --- self-evaluative psychology!"
====
