Southwest Softball

With the major league baseball season in full swing and many baseball fans rooting on their favorite teams in hopes of a pennant race and possibly a chance to see their favorite team play in October.

The recent passing of Memorial Day raised some reflection in many Americans minds. Often overlooked is the United States involvement in Iraq. Daily life for Americans goes on without thought of the American forces and the job they are doing in the gulf coast.

Lets reflect for a moment how the United States being at war affects our national pastime. Just prior to spring training in 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed and America was thrust into a war. Major league baseball could have gone unaffected by all this but fortunately it was not. Major league baseball player’s some in the early stages of their careers and some right in the prime of their careers stepped up to the plate for the good of their country. Many of these players sacrificed over 3 years of their baseball career with great pride and no regrets. We are not talking about average players who did this. The likes of Warren Spahn, Ted Williams, Enos Slaughter, Bob Feller, Yogi Berra, to name just a few.

To keep this in perspective how would Americans react if current Major league player’s such as Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Joe Mauer, Jason Varitek, and Manny Rameriez signed up VOLUNTARILY to fight the war in Iraq??? It seems that this day in age PATRIOTISM by Americans with stature whether it is professional athletes, movie stars or whoever. They want to support the war but only from a DISTANCE!!! It is amazing how the times have changed over the years. Not always for the BETTER!!!