RISING RACE

Ich kann nicht schreiben... „Ich habe lange nach Worten gesucht, um zu sagen, was mir der Führer ist. Worte können so fade und leer flingen, wenn sie innerste Gefühle ausdrücken sollen. Der Führer steht so turmhoch, daß man mit Worten nicht an ihn heranreicht. Er ist mir wie allen ehrlichen Deutschen zum Schicksal geworden. Kann ein Mensch sein Schicksal mit Worten beschreiben? Ich halte es für Vermessenheit. Darum lann ich nicht schreiben, was mir der Führer ist, ich will ihn lieben, weil er Deutschland ist." I cannot write... „I have tried for a long time to find words to express what the Führer is to me. Words expressing one’s deepest feelings can sound so thin and empty. The Führer towers so high that words cannot reach him. To me and all other honest Germans, he has become fate itself. Can a man put his fate in words? I do not think it possible. All I can say is about what the Führer means to me is this: I want to love him because he is Germany.” — Erich F., Münster This material comes from a quite remarkable book that can only be compared to religious devotional literature. The editor wrote to a range of people asking them to say what Adolf Hitler meant to them. The result is language one would ordinarily apply to God. Source: Das ist der Sieg! Briefe des Glaubens in Aufbruch und Krieg

From Chariot to Chassis, Horse to Horsepower V Not quite everyone in Rome was a fan of chariot racing. Pliny, who thought recitations were entertaining, could not understand the appeal of the circus. In a letter to a friend, he scoffs at the popular appeal of racing and the fickleness of fans who cheer for team or faction colors and not the skill of the drivers. Roman fans were perhaps the most fanatical sports fans in ancient history. Because Roman chariot racing was a team sport, spectators behaved like modern soccer fans, which favor a team, rather than modern horse racing fans, which favor a horse. In the circus, team and faction supporters often sat together at the races and cheered wildly for their team. All too often they quarreled with the supporters of the other teams, and riots broke out. Green fans trading punches with blue fans for example. Soldiers were stationed at regular intervals to help control unruly crowds. Pliny again, “The fans care not for the skill of the drivers, but for the team colors. If the team colors were suddenly switched, everyone would immediately transfer interest and support. One cheap tunic has so much power, so much influence and host just with the rabble, which is cheaper than even the tunic." Successful drivers, like gladiators, won the favor and the hearts of crowds. They were admired by men and adored by women. Champions sometimes wined and dined with the wealthy, and even emperors. Sadly, they could gain no social acceptance among the upper class in a society that considered entertainment and sport as a degrading occupation. For a young slave who had been brought to Rome from the provinces, hearing of a fellow slave rise to fame brought admiration and a desire to follow the same path. Many drivers showed reckless bravado on the track, hoping to win glory and fame, to become the pet of the circus crowd. One of the most popular drivers in Rome was a man named Scorpus (reminds me of Senna), who lived in the second half of the first century AD. He won 2048 races and had a huge following of fans. The poet Martial mentioned him in a number of poems while he was still alive. He also wrote about his death on the track, when he was only 26 years old. …Scorpus the pride of the noisy Circus, the darling of Rome, wildly cheered, but short lived. Spiteful Lachesis snatched him away in my twenty sixth year. Alas, what a crime, you were cheated of your youth… Why did the finish line of the race, which you time and time again hastened to cross, quickly covering the distance in your chariot, now become the finish of your life?