Too Much Golf, or Too Little Thought?

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

A piece in USA Today considers the fact that our Presidents' political opponents have, over the past few decades, been reliable complainers about those Presidents daring to partake of leisure activities:

This is great news, particularly if you hate Trump's politics. The more time he spends playing golf, the less time he has to play president.

Rather than pleasing his critics, Trump's golf outings irritate them. It's ironic that the same people who don't want Trump to do anything complain when he doesn't do anything.
Indeed it is, and I have openly wished for Obama to play golf much more often.

Windsor Mann starts with the fact that a President you oppose who plays golf has less time to do political damage to your cause, and that's true enough. But he continues with the following interesting observation:
Golf exposes a president to derision. Critics accuse him of neglect and insouciance -- in short, of not caring enough. But a president can't possibly care about everyone; nor should he. That's not his job.
I don't know Mann's political persuasion, but he's right: It is not the President's job to be some kind of national father. Indeed, if our government were properly limited, our Presidents would probably have far more leisure time. But back to the issue of caring. Mann reminds me of a profound point about such critics that conservative blogger Walter Hudson once made in defense of one of Obama's vacations:
It's entirely legitimate to criticize someone for indulging at the expense of vital responsibilities. To the extent Obama has neglected his job, you can build a case against his vacations. But this idea that he or any person should not enjoy life while others languish in misery proves as immoral as any have-not claim upon the lives of haves. [bold added]
The best you can possibly say about such criticism is that it is poorly thought-through. Mann is absolutely correct to say, "The dumbest criticism of any president is that he plays too much golf."

-- CAV

4 comments:

Dinwar said...

There's an almost Marxist undertone to the idea that the president shouldn't play golf.

The president's day will be filled with phone calls, emails, conferences, briefings, and other vitally important tasks that never the less prevent quiet contemplation. A person needs time to process the vast amount of data coming in, and that requires quiet time.

Golf is a way to provide time in your schedule for such contemplation. It's a game that requires skill and concentration, but which also allows for periods of relaxation where the mind can work on complex problems. The familiar physical exertion helps put one in a state of mind amenable to deep thought. It's a culturally-accepted period of disconnectedness as well, which decreases the likelihood of interruptions.

Our culture doesn't see the value of such work, however. Thinking about things isn't considered productive. Only "work" is. We're not totally Marxist, in as much as our culture is still willing (increasingly grudgingly) to grant that management and executives do work, but we still (again, as a culture) refuse to accept that thinking about things is vital to productivity. And it all comes from the same root: the rejection of the importance of thought to life.

Gus Van Horn said...

Dinwar,

That's an interesting take, though I suspect one primarily held by those who actually have played golf. Most of the rest doubtless see it only as a game and don't even get far enough to consider the idea that someone might need the downtime or even use it for reflection.

That said, you are probably right that many of those who think of it dismiss it as "not really work".

Gus

Dinwar said...

To be honest, I can't stand the activity--if I'm going to hit something with a stick, I want it to be able to hit back! (In other words, I do Medieval marshal arts.) I'm merely extrapolating from my experiences with less violent pastimes. The hours I've spent working on jewelry were also hours spent thinking, and I've found that I do best when I have periods like that.

I absolutely agree with the need for downtime as well. All work and no play is a sure-fire way to go insane; no one is capable of working 24/7. And while Liberals may want to declare Trump unfit for office, I doubt anyone seriously wants to see what happens if the leader of the free world genuinely loses his mind. Of course, Liberals aren't concerned with individuals, so what do they care if one man is destroyed?

Gus Van Horn said...

Dinwar,

Good on you for projecting the value golf can offer.

It is too bad that too many people do not do the same regarding the situations and pursuits of others.

Gus