The Peace Project

Baseball and Peace

The Nationals played their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week. Forty thousand fans cheered and hollered as they saw their home team win in the first game played in D.C. in three decades.

And outside the stands, doing some cheering and hollering of their own, were a group of protestors, including high school students, demonstrating against the construction of a new $600 million baseball stadium. "Millions for baseball, peanuts for schools" read the signs. These protestors didn't get nearly the media coverage of the baseball team (and actually had some rather nasty insults hurled their way).

Here's the problem: I believe in public education. I want kids from inner cities and rural areas to have the same opportunities as children who grow up in affluent suburbs. I believe, more strongly than I hold any other belief, that education can be the silver bullet, solving problems of poverty, of intolerance, of the imbalanced power structure. And yes, quality, even exceptional, education for every child can be a harbinger of peace.

But, I also love baseball. I love emerging from a long tunnel and seeing the green field, pristine below me. I love the sound of a homerun. I love the excitement of a three and two pitch. And, on Thursday night, 40,000 baseball fans were right there with me (and we all wanted a new, bright stadium to house our new, bright team).

We here at the Peace Project are dedicated to bringing unheard protests to light, which is why I mention those protestors outside the baseball stadium last weekend. But, this time, I don't think they're right. They're framing the issue as an either/or -- a new baseball stadium or millions in education money for schoolkids. That simply will not happen. If the stadium bill had not been passed, the students in D.C. would not be getting a $600 million windfall for new school facilities.

That said, I am embarrassed by the funding amounts designated for D.C. public schoolchildren. Students here deserve better. They deserve new facilities, updated textbooks, and flourishing arts and athletic programs. Urban schoolchildren, as a whole, face more challenges than kids from affluent communities. They aren't read to as children. They don't have parents with the time to help them with their homework. They may have to care for younger siblings or disabled parents. English may not be their first language. These children have enough struggles before they even make it through the schoolhouse door. It shouldn't be more difficult once they get inside.

So, in the interest of bringing together my two passions, I suggest that instead of protesting the new stadium, the activists begin negotiating with the city and the team owners. Public funding is not sufficient for our kids. Designating some portion of money from the new stadium -- 50 cents of every hot dog sold, for example -- would add a private source of funding on top of the appropriations the schools get now. The schools would get more money, and the baseball team would get some positive publicity.

The fight over the baseball stadium is over. But it's not too late to still get more money for the city's schoolchildren.

posted by Sammy @ 10:42 PM