By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
It feels impossible nowadays to have a sufficient conversation or debate with someone regarding a controversial topic anymore. I see it more often in sports, but such is the case in everyday life, too. Why is it that people move goalposts to fit their certain agendas?
Moving goalposts is a metaphor for when someone may alter the rules or meaning of something to support their argument or actions so that new “goalposts” offer an advantage or disadvantage.
Whether it’s a conversation about something as serious as politics or harmless as sports, I’ve seen countless examples of this among society. When the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced, there were a large amount of folks that weren’t comfortable getting vaccinated because they felt it was unsafe.
“My body, my choice,” right?
I see no issue with that. If that’s how a person feels, they have every right to believe that and live that way. The U.S. was literally founded on individuality and doing things in a manner we see fit.
My only issue with this, however, is that many of those same folks are ready to burn someone at the stake for supporting something like abortions. What happened to “My body, my choice?” And if you’re interpreting this message as me pushing a political narrative or taking a particular side of the spectrum, you’d be so wrong.
Is it criminal to ask for some consistency?
As a sports writer, I see it on a daily basis. Fans shift the basis of an argument to fit their ideals or narratives time after time again. It’s a tired, old thing, but it’s so prevalent and common. For you sports fans, my favorite example is how Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic is being praised for his unique ability to record triple doubles.
Those same people that praise Jokic for this feat slandered and bashed former Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook for doing the same thing just a few years ago. It’s “cool” to root against Westbrook, so calling him a “stat-padder” made sense back then, yet Jokic gets nothing but praise for doing the same thing at a less impressive clip.
You see my point? It can be in any type of scenario. I’m probably guilty of this same thing, too.
We all have opinions and we’re all passionate about what we believe in. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. If anything, more power to you. But we should be a little more conscious about “keeping that same energy” when it comes to how we analyze a given topic or situation. I’m tired of the hypocrisy, and we need to be better.
