A year ago this weekend, Mrs. Confidential and I visited the foremost destination for foreign tourists who come to Louisville, and I urged readers to do the same. We've been back for a repeat look, and enjoyed the experience just as much the second time.
C'mon, who could turn down an afternoon at Louisville's Muhammad Ali Center?
I wrote last year that, "It is difficult to imagine any self-declared Democrat – for that matter, any person, period – consciously turning down the opportunity to reflect on the universal human ideals considered therein." In the 12 months that have passed since then, the success of Barack Obama's presidential bid provides yet another opportunity to consider the nature and practice of these ideals.
Here is the Center's mission statement:
The Muhammad Ali Center serves as both a destination site and an international education and cultural center that is inspired by the ideals of its founder Muhammad Ali … Two-and-a-half levels of interactive exhibits and captivating multi-media presentations present Ali’s life story through the six core values of his life: respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, and spirituality … Ultimately, the Ali Center strives to inspire you to pursue your potential and explore the greatness that lies within yourself.
What's the deal with Muhammed Ali? I have been trying to understand this since I moved here and noticed all the white executives getting involved in fundraising for his museum. And seriously, I am not trying to take anything away from him: I thought he was a great boxer and athlete, but it ended there, as it did with Micky Mantle.
ReplyDeleteGranted, I am an out-of-towner and an outsider in a region in which your high school friendships are your perpetual social connections and your teenage heros live forever. I'm of an age, now 60, at which I grew up with, and often defended his controversial choices to my elders, especially having been against the Vietnam conflict. As such, I have revered him as a great boxer, and possibly a man of some moral weight, although I had some difficulty reconciling his anti-war position with his short-
sighted willingness to damage an opponent's brain in his pugilistic endeavors. (Arguably his opponents in the ring willingly participated whereas the NVA were defendiing from an imperialist attack.)
That fact conceded: please help me understand exactly what he has done to accord him the reputation he has as a hero beyond boxing, especially as a tremendous agent for social change. Other than that he is from Lousiville, is a famous boxer, and suffers from Parkinson's disease, a terrible neurological condition that may, or may not be caused by the head shots he received (and delivered) as part of his chosen profession, what has he contributed that we would see as really above and beyond expectations for a person who has earned what he has in the ring?
From the iconoclastic stances I have read in this blog, I would not have expected the hero worship I saw in your recent post. Obviously I am missing something beyond the conventional wisdom and political correctness. Please enlighten me.
Peter Feimer
But an appreciation of Muhammad Ali's significance in the world at large is the most iconoclastic stance of all for those growing up in or near his hometown.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, why insert the adjective "white" to modify executives in your first paragraph? I imagine it was unintended, but metaphorically, isn't the act of asking such a question the gist of what Ali has done throughout his life?
In essence, I'd say Ali's importance can be measured by how he came to be viewed away from the First World, in terms of ethnicity, religion and a recurring message of conflict resolution. That a boxer might be transformed into a voice of peace doesn't seem unusual to me. Who better understands violence than a boxer, and who better to see other methods?
Here's a good article:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ideasv91/early.pdf