I’ve never seen her play, know absolutely nothing about her, and have no idea what she even looks like (I hope the photo I found is her and not some other tennis star). But I’m starting to love her anyway because of her frankness. Gotta appreciate that, and I particularly enjoyed her latest utterance.

The outspoken Ms. Li got into more trouble the other day in an interview when she basically said that she isn’t busting her ass on the tennis court because she’s representing her country. She’s a pro and is in it for herself.

The PRC Intertubes went nuts, as you’d expect. The Net is, after all, the last bastion of the fervent nationalist (also Michigan’s Upper Peninsula). And you know, the nationalists do have an argument to make. Call it the interconnectedness theorem, if you’d like. We all know the following language from John Donne’s meditation:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

Stirring drivel, that. Brings back all those fond memories of sitting in chapel with my school chums and listening to an exhilarating sermon by Doctor Arnold. No wait, that wasn’t me; that was Tom Brown’s Schooldays.

Or perhaps you’d prefer the full-length, albeit less lyrical, version, such as Hilary Clinton’s 1996 book “It Takes A Village“?

I think you get the point. Li Na’s critics would say that her talents were identified and nurtured at a young age not by wealthy parents (as might be the case in other nations) but by China’s State “sports machine” apparatus. Again, I don’t know anything about Li Na’s background, but I assume she went through the athletic “system” here.

In other words, the nation fostered her abilities and gave her the opportunities she needed to develop, and therefore she owes some sort of duty to her country.

Meh. Admittedly, I’m biased against any nationalist argument. I’ve long since stopped being proud of the American Olympic team, and my geographical ties are wearing a bit thin these days as well (e.g., I don’t really care what happens to the Boston Red Sox anymore, although I do reserve the right to maintain an irrational disgust of the New York Yankees).

Rooting for a sports team, or an individual, based on nationality, location or even where you went to school is irrational, and I try not to do it. I don’t always succeed, but I make the effort. I understand that sports are often important in building communities, but tell that to all the folks out there who have been beat up by football hooligans over the years.

But back to the main point. If society helped Li Na get where she is now, does she owe a duty to China? Answer: of course not.

The same argument could be made of practically anyone who has succeeded at anything. For example, I went to a public school as a child. Should I have stayed in the city in which I grew up and paid back the community for all that yummy education? Most people would say no, that school was paid for by tax dollars, some of which were contributed by my family. It wasn’t a loan, and I didn’t sign a training contract before receiving that education.

And neither did Li Na, as far as I know. Yes, the government here contributed to her training, and good on them for providing that opportunity. But who is the government and how is it funded? By the people, such as Li Na and her family. The government funds a whole lot of things; is everyone who benefits from a public program somehow automatically a representative of the country? The idea is absurd on its face.

John Donne was an idiot. I mean really, every baptism and burial is somehow his business? What chutzpah!

Let’s leave Li Na alone. I respect her honesty and her skills. She can do what she wants. If folks here want to cheer her on because she’s Chinese, that’s fine, but that doesn’t translate into any affirmative duty on her part.

© Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Li Na, nationalism, tennis