Whenyouthinkofthetremendoustechnologicalprogresswehavemade,it’samazinghowlittlewehavedevelopedinotherrespects.WemayspeakscornfullyofthepooroldRomansbecausetheyenjoyedtheseeminglyexcitedkillingthatwentoni
Whenyouthinkofthetremendoustechnologicalprogresswehavemade,it’samazinghowlittlewehavedevelopedinotherrespects.WemayspeakscornfullyofthepooroldRomansbecausetheyenjoyedtheseeminglyexcitedkillingthatwentonintheirarenas（竞技场）.Wemaydespisethembecausetheymistookthesegoingsonforentertainment.Wemayforgivethembecausetheylived2000yearsagoandobviouslyknewnobetter.Butareourfeelingsofsuperiority（优越）reallyjustified?Areweanylessblood-thirsty?Whydoboxingmatches,forinstance,attractsuchuniversalinterest?Don’ttheaudiencewhoattendthemhopetheywillseesomeviolence?Humanbeingsremainasbloodthirstyasevertheywere.TheonlydifferencebetweenourselvesandtheRomansisthatwhiletheywerehonestenoughtoadmitthattheyenjoyedwatchinghungrylionstearingpeopleapartandeatingthemalive,wefindallsortsofargumentstodefendsportswhichshouldhavebeenbannedlongago.
Itreallyisincrediblethatinthisdayandageweshouldstillallowhuntingorbull-fighting,thatweshouldbepreparedtositbackandwatchtwomenpuncheachotherinaboxingring,thatweshouldberelativelyunmovedbythesightofoneoranumberofracingcarscrashingandburstingintoflames.Anytalkof‘thesportingspirit’ismerelyhypocrisy（虚伪）.Peopletakepartinviolentsportsbecauseofthehighrewardstheybring.Audiencearewillingtopayvastsumsofmoneytoseeviolence.Aworldheavyweightchampionshipmatch,forinstance,isfrontpagenews.Millionsofpeoplearedisappointedifabigfightisoverintworoundsinsteadoffifteen.Theyfeeldisappointmentbecausetheyhaven’texperiencedtheexquisitepleasureofwitnessingcontinuousviolence.
Whyshouldwebanviolentsportsifpeopleenjoythemsomuch?Youmaywellask.Theanswerissimple:theyareuncivilized.Forcenturiesmanhasbeentryingtoimprovehimselfspirituallyandemotionally—thoughwithlittlesuccess.Butatleastwenolongertoleratethesightmadmenimprisonedincages,orpublicpunishmentofanyofthecountlessotherbarbarous(野蛮的)practiceswhichwerecommoninthepast.Prisonsarenolongertheharshforbiddingplacestheyusedtobe.Socialwelfaresystemsareinoperationinmanypartsoftheworld.Bigeffortsarebeingmadetodis