This Sunday thousands of American’s will sit down to watch the Super Bowl, it’s commercials, and the halftime show, although this far be from our natural state. While it may be called the Super Bowl, it is far inferior to the past. Our desires by nature are meant to be simple, yet this Sunday we will be heaving entertainment on top of entertainment. Are we not satisfied? And after the game, fans of the losing team will be distraught. There was no such worry or concern at our origin, yet with the development of our society, so have our desires developed, but for the worse. Man will go out onto the field with pads and a helmet, attempt to overcome their opponent, but neither team would be able to compete with a savage man. “But if you want to see an even more unequal fight, pit them against each other naked and disarmed, and you will soon realize the advantage of constantly having all of one’s forces at one’s disposal.” (Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau 48). Many observers will view these athletes as superior. This inequality would be far absent in the past, but with the progression of society has come the regression of us.
https://www.nfl.com/super-bowl
You make some very interesting points about how the competitive nature of sports teams and games feeds into society’s perception of inferiority and superiority. I found your example of using this upcoming Super Bowl as a great example of expressing your idea.
Hi Nicholas, as you have mentioned, achieving the basic needs of survival is no longer enough for mankind as our desires continue to change and increase over time. Although one would think that the progress of our society might benefit all its citizens, it ends up contributing to the inequality among men. Those that were considered to have a stable living with gas and water will now be at disadvantage for not having electricity, and because others will be able to attain resources as the internet, the poor will be unable to progress and will continue to struggle.
Nicholas,
I think that your points are very interesting and it made me realize that society has made athletes considered to be “superior” than others because they can be a source of “entertainment”. It is possible that there is someone who is observing the Super Bowl thinking about how they would be perfectly happy if they were one of the players able to get a crowd on their feet. While, the players keep thinking that they are unhappy because although they are playing in the Super Bowl they could always be better and there will be a team that loses which would cause that team a lot of disappointment. Thus, no one is really happy, the players or the observers.
While I understand looking at this type of thing from a Rousseauian point of view, I don’t think that it’s true at all. The Super Bowl is honestly really entertaining most of the time – the games are some of the best football games ever, with the final outcome staying up-for-grabs until the final possession or even the final play. 3 out of the last 4 Super Bowls that the Patriots participated in were absolutely incredible – to judge these games by the same criteria that you would judge any game by is blasphemous. Maybe you could bring the idea of “satisfaction” into the equation if were talking about any random game – you could argue that being satisfied by watching a game in the first place is trivial. However, amazing Super Bowls totally bring me and a lot of other people real satisfaction, since the games are extremely good and memorable.
I find your points very interesting and it justifies my views on how society holds athletes at a “superior” level because they are considered to be this source of “entertainment”. People don’t think about the bigger issue when it comes to football, they only want to be entertained. People hold these football athletes to such level and never consider the long term effects that football causes.