Just a baseball bat

It was during my senior year of college. I was in a social theory class. We never knew what our teacher was going to do to make a point. One day she walks in with a bat, a baseball bat. The bat looked like it was made from wood. Other than it being a little odd we didn't think to much of her hitting objects with it in the classroom. She then asked us if our feelings would remain the same if she told us it was the same bat Babe Ruth used to hit his last home run.

In our discussion that followed, comparing just a regular baseball bat to Babe Ruth's baseball bat, I gained a greater sense of what it means for something to be sacred. Baseball bats are used everyday, kept in a closet, under a bed, in the trunk, dropped to the ground, kicked, and used over and over again. I hope every red blooded American would agree with mee that a bat used by Babe Ruth belongs in a glass case in a museum somewhere. Maybe it is already there.

In this particular Sociology class, if I remember right, we discussed how different things are sacred or taboo in different cultures. Taboo items being things you don't talked about or words you don't say or things you don't do. Sacred being things are so important they are treated with extra care and consideration when discussed or done and only in properly prepared situations.

A remark I have heard concerning our precious flag is that it is just a piece of cloth. I don't think that was the thought of Francis Scott Key when he saw it waving from a prison ship early one morning, or the people who have earned having one draped over their casket. Even those who choose to burn it out of protest know it is more than a piece of fabric.

As a sociologist I have worked to veiw things objectively (I am human, it doesn't always work). With this in mind, and my current job selection, I am exposed to a lot of information that I try to distance myself from maintaining only an intellectual curiosity. I have seen and heard some things that are gross, horrifying, sickening, and perverse.

The first time I remember feeling violated was while recently watching a show. I don't even want to mention the name or date because I don't want you to go looking for it. Something that is considered to be very sacred to members of the LDS faith was displayed on national television. I felt sick.

I am not naïve. I know that there are those who don't understand, or out of hatred have put a lot of things on-line for anyone to find. And I will say the show attempted to respect the information with as much respect as one can have for a culture they know little or nothing about.

This experience has helped mee realize there are things I can do to treat sacred things with better care. That may start with watching less television.