But is it only a game? I don't think so. At least, for me, it isn't only about the game itself.
Wendell Berry is a farmer and writer from Kentucky, a state that knows a thing or two about basketball.
Through
essays, novels and poetry, he focuses on the importance of local
community and laments the loss of local memory. His voice has been in
the back of my mind while traveling to and from games this year.
In
his important essay "The Work of Local Culture," Berry makes a keen
observation: "When a community loses its memory, its members no longer
know each other. How can they know each other if they have forgotten or
have never learned each other's stories? If they do not know each
other's stories, how can they know whether or not to trust each other?
People who do not trust each other do not help each other, and moreover
they fear each other."
I don't want to understate the complexity
of our time or the complicated nature of the problems facing our
communities, but I think Mr. Berry is pointing us in a good direction.
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