Cruel and dangerous sports should be banned by law

By Idris Elba

When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made,it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects.We may speak insultingly of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the orgies(狂欢;放纵)of slaughter(屠杀)that went on in their sport fields.We may look down upon them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment.We may forgive them condescendingly (屈尊地)because they lived 2,000 years ago and obviously knew no better.But are our feelings of superiority really justified?Are we any less blood-thirsty?Why do boxing matches,for instance,attract such universal interest?Don’t the spectators who attend them hope they will see some violence?Human beings remain as blood-thirsty as ever they were.The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive,we find all sorts of complicated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long age;sports which are quite as cruel as,say,public hangings or bear baiting.

It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting,that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp(把……打成浆状)in a boxing ring,that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames.Let us not cheat ourselves.Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is completely hypocritical(伪善的).People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring.Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence.A world heavyweight championship match,for instance,is front page news.Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen.They feel disappointed because they have been deprived of the strong pleasure of witnessing extended torture and violence.

Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much?You may well ask.The answer is simple:they are uncivilized.For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—admittedly with little success.But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen cooped up in cages,or public floggings(鞭打)of any of the countless other uncivilized practices which were common in the past.Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be.Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world.Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly.These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly and unaccountably improved,but because positive steps were taken to change the law.The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence.If we banned dangerous and violent sports,we would be moving one step further to improve mankind.We would recognize that violence is shameful and unworthy of human beings.