Eagles' owner in favor of climate change — in politics
Prominent on the list of things most of us weren't expecting to be dropped into our Friday evening laps was a TIME magazine essay by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, challenging Americans to put aside their political differences and come together to address pressing issues.
Obviously, Lurie wrote before the Republican attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare foundered Friday, but the tone of his remarks certainly seemed tailored to the moment. Here is the gist:
"We are simultaneously experiencing a dysfunctional jolt to all that is political, cultural, social and economic. In this harsh environment, the real problems we face, the basic human needs that are unmet, become tools to divide us instead of causes to rally around. The very quality of human life — that most precious, wondrous and fragile experience of discovery — becomes the unwanted victim of our evolution into the abyss of spiraling dysfunction.
"What I have learned from football can be applied to society at large. Just as we intensely game-plan against an opponent in sports, we need to game plan for the reality and consequences of polarization. Extreme polarization is the opponent — not each other. A football team is made up of players from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences and political viewpoints. What unites them is grit, determination, and the desire to win. They join in a common goal and do what is necessary to transcend their differences for the greater good of their team.
"What unites Americans is far more negative. We are now in an age where communicating verifiable information becomes secondary to the goal of creating a common enemy that unifies people in fear, negativity and opposition. This masks our inability to solve serious domestic problems (poverty, violence and institutional racism to name three current examples) and diverts our attention from obvious suffering."
From there, Lurie moved on to the subject of autism, using it as an example of a looming crisis that is not being sufficiently addressed because of our inability to come together on important issues. Lurie has an autistic brother.
"We have the opportunity, right now, to do what America is great at: devoting the best minds and necessary resources to tackle the human puzzles that cause so much suffering. Artificial intelligence, computer science, advanced data mining, biomedical science, genetics … the list goes on and on where our country is at the forefront and our people are ready to engage.
"All we are lacking is leadership. Imagine if Republicans and Democrats put down their swords just for a day to create a comprehensive multi-disciplinary, multi-occupational effort to solve the mysteries of Autism and uncover groundbreaking treatments. Imagine how we would benefit from understanding aspects of the autistic brain that can include rare mathematical, creative and other cognitive abilities that may well enhance our own brain power and human potential. We might even excite our global rivals to join this united effort."
Lurie, rarely available to reporters, is expected to speak during the NFL owners' meetings in Arizona, which begin Sunday.