On the ragged edge
No, this ragged edge is not about government dragging us to the brink of total war, but it IS about politics. It is about what free people SHOULD be able to attend to, rather than having to concern ourselves with loss of liberty and hatred of our nation's foreign policy. This is about beauty and individual achievement, both delightful parts of the human existence that can easily become overwhelmed by the ugliness of politics. This is the stuff that gives me the fuel to continue the political battle that I so wish were unneccessary. This is what I would LOVE to write about instead.
Most of us have never pushed our abilities to their absolute limits and tried to publicly perform them at that level. Doing so requires far more than skill... it requires marvelous mental performance... an almost impossible combination of confidence and concentration, yet all that must be taken almost to a non-conscious level.
The greatest performances are those right on the ragged edge of loss of control, and it takes great courage to push right up to that edge. For an athletic performance, the slightest error can result in immediate injury. It should be no surprise that occasionally a performer will fail when the goal is coming as close to failure as possible.
For me, figure skating, particularly by women, has been the best example of such performance; it combines exceptional grace and coordination with great athletic ability. Watching a skater perform near her own limit, whatever that might be, is a thrill. Tuesday night, the Olympic short program performances were wonderful. Young American Emily Hughes had one of those performances... just as good as she could do, and she was proud. Whether she ends up medaling or not, she deserves to be very proud.
After several other fine skaters, the last performer of the evening appeared, Sasha Cohen, a cute little brunette waif. She was expected to do well, but, according to the commentators, she had long been expected to do well, but often hadn't... flashes of real brilliance, but inconsistent. I thought Sasha was Russian while she was skating, but I really didn't care what nation she represented.
Sasha had me enthralled and emotionally involved with her every move. She came out of every jump with a defiant look on her face that quietly said "I nailed that and there was no doubt in my mind that I would". It was the sort of performance that memories are made of. It was one of those fleeting moments of brilliance.
Since writing the previous paragraphs, the ladies have skated again, in the long program, and Sasha did not skate again with the same perfection. She fell once, and almost again.
Shizuka Arakawa of Japan won with a clean but conservative skate. Sasha won the silver medal and Irina Slutskaya of Russia, who also skated at less than her best, was the bronze medalist. Going into the long program, Sasha and Irina were in a virtual tie, with Shizuka in third.
Pushing performance to the ragged edge always carries a significant chance of failure, but it also produces great moments of beauty. I won't forget Sasha's short program... for me, it's far more important than the final results of the competition. It WAS the most memorable moment of the competition. For a mere three minutes, Sasha (and the other skaters) gave me respite from the ugliness of the world, and demonstrated just how magnificent individual human achievement can be... the absolute antithesis of politics.
Most of us have never pushed our abilities to their absolute limits and tried to publicly perform them at that level. Doing so requires far more than skill... it requires marvelous mental performance... an almost impossible combination of confidence and concentration, yet all that must be taken almost to a non-conscious level.
The greatest performances are those right on the ragged edge of loss of control, and it takes great courage to push right up to that edge. For an athletic performance, the slightest error can result in immediate injury. It should be no surprise that occasionally a performer will fail when the goal is coming as close to failure as possible.
For me, figure skating, particularly by women, has been the best example of such performance; it combines exceptional grace and coordination with great athletic ability. Watching a skater perform near her own limit, whatever that might be, is a thrill. Tuesday night, the Olympic short program performances were wonderful. Young American Emily Hughes had one of those performances... just as good as she could do, and she was proud. Whether she ends up medaling or not, she deserves to be very proud.
After several other fine skaters, the last performer of the evening appeared, Sasha Cohen, a cute little brunette waif. She was expected to do well, but, according to the commentators, she had long been expected to do well, but often hadn't... flashes of real brilliance, but inconsistent. I thought Sasha was Russian while she was skating, but I really didn't care what nation she represented.
Sasha had me enthralled and emotionally involved with her every move. She came out of every jump with a defiant look on her face that quietly said "I nailed that and there was no doubt in my mind that I would". It was the sort of performance that memories are made of. It was one of those fleeting moments of brilliance.
Since writing the previous paragraphs, the ladies have skated again, in the long program, and Sasha did not skate again with the same perfection. She fell once, and almost again.
Shizuka Arakawa of Japan won with a clean but conservative skate. Sasha won the silver medal and Irina Slutskaya of Russia, who also skated at less than her best, was the bronze medalist. Going into the long program, Sasha and Irina were in a virtual tie, with Shizuka in third.
Pushing performance to the ragged edge always carries a significant chance of failure, but it also produces great moments of beauty. I won't forget Sasha's short program... for me, it's far more important than the final results of the competition. It WAS the most memorable moment of the competition. For a mere three minutes, Sasha (and the other skaters) gave me respite from the ugliness of the world, and demonstrated just how magnificent individual human achievement can be... the absolute antithesis of politics.
posted by Robert Ronald Smith at 3:36 AM
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