With all the seriousness of a Game

Nelson Medina, O.P.

1.Más to spend time
I was stunned to learn that the home games (Play Station type) move more million
s than the videos for use at home. For example, the digital edition of the Journ
al of Lion of February 4, 2005 notes that "8.5 million people, one in five Spani
sh, are consumers of video games." A little further specific in relation to age:
only 38% of users are minors, and [...] this percentage drops dramatically belo
w 14 years. " The games affected a substantial part of the lives of many people:
Almost all respondents say they play at least once a week, and one in four, almo
st every day. Those who play less are women, most of which spend less than one h
our a week. The most should be worried are the 20% who admit to having reduced o
ther leisure activities such as cinema, theater, activities, sports or studies t
o increase the hours devoted to the game.
In one fell stroke two assumptions that kept time ago: that the games were a mat
ter of adolescents and that more money was spent on other forms of entertainment
. The truth is that the game seems to be all but superfluous. I mean, entertainm
ent is more than just pass the time. You could almost say that we meet the needs
because the need to entertain it moves us. The old monk canonized the phrase "D
eo vacare to specify how the release of the so-called menial jobs was a kind of
condition for the monk could take his time on other things, it is assumed that t
he cultivation of other areas of your spirit, through reading or meditation, is
assumed. That need to be free of needs has enormous power, as reflected by sever
al things, if we look good.
First, as already said, huge amounts of money from the final consumers. This in
turn implies huge investments in technology and resources to develop increasingl
y realistic games, at least in the computer segment. Second, do the mental exerc
ise to remove the entertainment of a society like the West. We would be torn dow
n cinemas and theaters, nightclubs and casinos, and stadiums, tennis, surely par
ks ... It almost seems that the city was born of trade but its goal is the freed
om of not having to do anything: "vacated" ... Third, look at the typical televi
sion programming. You can talk about good or bad taste but you can not miss is t
hat the vast majority of content aimed just to entertain. It is interesting that
the same verb: to entertain. It gives the idea of a temporary and provisional,
as when a person has to make a turn in the waiting room while the doctor is call
ed. Then the person is "entertaining" for example by reading something light, pe
rhaps inconsequential. The end of the entertainment should be this: take our tim
e while the main course arrives. The problem is that many do not know what could
be a really hard course and so are left with appetizers and all of their time i
s entertainment. More formally one may ask if the entertainment is a means, as s
uggested by the clinic's waiting room, or an end, as suggested by the resolved o
nce we consider "needs" then yes we are dedicated ... To entertain! What's in th
e bottom of all this?
2.Juegos and addictions
Clearly, then, that the games, play and entertain, is not a trivial matter. It i
nvolves money, people, life, strength, talent and profound questions. The dark s
ide of the issue is addiction. Like any addicted gambler can tear the whole so a
s not to discard what fascinates him and overwhelm him. The stories in this rega
rd are dramatic and sad: people offering their own sons or daughters at a poker
table, or risking the assets of the whole family or coming to despair or suicide
by a run of bad luck. " 2
In this dark side we can and should get something better, however. I think that
where there is an addiction there is also a face of a supposed happiness. The al
coholic or drug addict does not look bad that brings his vice but what they find
happiness in it. Addressing addiction from the point of view of the disasters t
hat are blocking our entry is any understanding of the mind of the addict. And w
ithout understanding what's on your mind all that we will work from outside to t
ry to control the circumstances that make it possible to satisfy their desires.
It is more or less what is done with animals. It is interesting to make a compar
ison between the way it has dealt with gambling addiction and attitudes about ho
mosexuality.€A man of genius as the British mathematician Alan Turing was treat
ed like an animal. Literally experiments were with him, experiments with hormone
s, isolation, psychological pressure. Behind this "treatment" was the idea of "c
ontrol" because of his homosexuality should not exist. The story has a sad endin
g: Turing committed suicide. With that, obviously, became a "martyr" of the caus
e and a huge motivation for all sorts of sexual orientation "get out of the clos
et." England went well, at least 50 years of law enforcement at the exuberance,
with regard to homosexuality. The method of controlling from the outside ends tu
rning against itself and gives birth to its opposite extreme debauchery.
3.Juegos and Self-Awareness
Understanding gambling addiction may seem a marginal year, needed only to psychi
atrists or families suffering one of its members have such inclination. For me t
he issue is deeper. We assume that scares me as people who can not play like pla
ying with everything. Hitler represents very well in the first and Nero to the l
atter. Extremes meet. If a person can not recognize an area of freedom, creativi
ty and pleasure in of itself, what the world will want to build? On the other ha
nd, if we are honest and recognize that space could we also assume that fascinat
e him so much that we wanted to move to their homes. Such is the intent of the a
ddict. Of course not all games or players are equal. Each one portrays its own s
earch in games that you are attracted or not attracted. Our teacher
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novices used to say that nowhere more than we knew that the basketball court. Th
ere are games where the skill premium, in others the wisdom, others still favor
the spirit of competition and leave all or nearly all by chance, like dice. Each
of these dishes the huge menu of games aimed at a different kind of player. The
re are people who love to gamble and one that loves to run. There are those who
like odds and who just want something pleasant to your senses. If you look at wh
at games we like and why, we learn a lot about ourselves.
4.Jugar and Believe
There is a complex relationship between religion and gambling. Any serious gamer
is a believer, a believer usually superstitious, because without a notion of "l
uck" hardly enters a game or sport that is worthy of the name. Does this, in add
ition, that every believer has something of a player? Some have spoken of religi
on as a "bet" and I think it is arguable that point of view. The single, rigid a
nd calculating reason can not justify without further investment of time, money
and strength in everything we do has to do with faith. Of course, believing is n
ot the same as gambling but in any case, the believer knows that the control is
not entirely in their hands and it is twinned with the player. Also, a good beli
ever wants to "win" and wants the darkness "lost" - a theme that is continued in
the games. On the other hand, since the game involves the desire to win does no
t necessarily win the right or best, religion has been the need to refine or res
train the practices of the game. Which has a paradox because it is not unusual t
hat the church raise money through fun activities or games in any order, as the
"bingo" that have become famous in American parishes. If someone wants to critic
ize the Catholic Church, there will surely find a theme that is repeated often a
nd in many places. Another thing that can not be denied is the growing trend of
electronic games to the themes of Satanism. On this there are several theories.
Some say that designers and developers of such games are involved in satanic sec
ts or have or claim to have pacts with the devil. I think the explanation is pro
bably simple. In areas of Satanism or the demonic is easier to give flexibility
to the rules,
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example, unilaterally emphasizing the idea of a huge power. For there to be set
must be combat and combat involves use of power. God and the saints do not use t
heir power in any way, presumably, however, that such "restrictions" does not fi
t when it comes to the powers of darkness and that is why they continually pops
up in the games. I do not say that this is innocent or harmless. I think that hu
rts the player and the society at large, but decline to hear is not the best way
to overcome.
5.Amar and Play
Love, especially love for a partner, has been compared also with a game. Not poo
r and impoverishing the sense of "playing with someone" (that would not even be
human) but to describe the tactics,€strategies and adventures that involves con
quering or being conquered. It's hard to imagine little taste and love without t
hat dimension of certain maneuvers and subtlety. In societies where there is thi
s union of the couple is reduced to the prose of a commercial transaction: I wan
t this and paid for it. It is said that couples in love there are three aspects:
desire, romance and attachment. I even read that each of these aspects occurs i
n different areas of the brain, so they can be relatively independent, particula
rly in the male brain. Another thing that seems certain is that circumstances su
ch as age influence what aspect takes the lead: sometimes it is the desire, some
times romantic, others the need for companionship and mutual dependence. Ideally
, in a marriage there are three, though I'm not exactly the same time. The game
accompanies each of these phases, I think. Without some "game" the desire become
s possession, satisfaction and disposal, more or less as in animal species. That
part of playing a bit, however, makes each one feel always subject, while desir
able object is known and desired. The romance has a dimension of play as shown b
y all the changes of names given in love, almost to create a language for themse
lves. "Gordis," to give but one common example in Colombia is a word that plays
with an aspect of another person (his fatness or thinness). Also the hype, they
are a way to play 5
with the universe, are the order of the day (or night) for romantic love. "I bri
ng the moon, my love," he says, returning to early childhood fantasies. The worl
d becomes "playground, playing field: it is stretched, relaxed, you can play wit
h him, moving stars traveling at speeds that would shame Einstein. If, unfortuna
tely, the romance ends, well beyond the Moon is screwed into the night. The game
is over. It would appear that the attachment is too serious to put it in these
schemes of games but not so. Most of the discussions and "fights" between those
who have served many happy years together. That language of words and frowns, wi
th changes in voice and tone of grumbling, is not really serious, or at least, i
s not most of the time. It's just a way to indicate how much is common to rememb
er with good humor that once was independent of that other person.
6.Jugar and Learning
According to the descriptions given us by St Augustine of Hippo, play and learni
ng have often been seen as opposites, if not enemies. At that time things looked
something like this: The game is the land of freedom and free, the school, the
land of the requirement and evaluation purposes. From this point of view, little
game can be requested from the schools, apart from some time of "recreation," d
esigned especially to recover the strength to continue in earnest, what it's wor
th it: the study. Daughter of this way of looking at things is that infamous phr
ase: "The rod and spoil." The coercive power of punishment and the unquestioned
power of authority is considered the best arguments for that knowledge to settle
in the minds of the kids terrified. Then things changed. I do not know if too.
Attempt to turn schools and places schools and attractive kind. Teachers should
be more "companions" and "friends" with a series of functions opposite to the ol
d model: rather than transmitting knowledge, help to "challenge," rather than in
stilling a belief in welcoming educate all beliefs, motivators rather than teach
ers, entertainers rather than academics. The new model, much more playful, must
preserve the originality over excellence, or better: to define excellence in ter
ms of what each June
who decides to be. In such terms is impossible to assess as such, or at least it
is impossible to assess a student's content: what are evaluated are processes,
and processes are institution-wide or even beyond it, the family and society. Th
is style of life, less stressful and more friendly, is still very new to say the
final word on it. What seems certain is that required some or perhaps many sett
ings. Ireland is an interesting case. Educational reform led to abhor punishing
children in primary school. It was therefore easy for many boys and little girls
come with very poor bases to secondary school. Since they could not thus "lost
year" academic, it was necessary to extend the relaxed style and folk for the se
condary, which followed (and still) with air ride. But there was able to walk,€
Higher Education because demand a high quality, since only qualified technicians
and professionals can make their way in the dispute of the labor market, which
knows no borders: here come Chinese, Spanish, Americans, Poles, Slovaks ... If y
ou're Irish this does not guarantee you work in Ireland. This is known universit
ies and colleges, that they understand that logical consequence is the whole pla
y to demonstrate their ability to show that people are "successful." The Dublin
City University (DCU), for example, has taken by slogan: "You prepare for the ha
rd life that awaits you." That is, it's game over. What makes the Irish educatio
n system to take a walk to the children right up to the entry into higher educat
ion? Set a rule for admission based on the scores of a state examination. The ki
ds can play but if they do not get a large official test scores (which are the t
error of all of them) may study for low-ranking positions. When the boys get the
reviews horrible experience crises, sick, depressed, alcoholic, because ... the
game is over. In others the formulas are different but what is clear is that ne
ither the style of the letter and the blood or teacher simply great friend is th
e answer. Learning can not be too distant to play but can not be the same.
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7. Is fiction a game?
The extraordinary success of the trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" makes us think
about the power of fiction. As everyone knows, this monument film is based on th
e work of the same name published by J. R. Tolkien in 1955. One can not but be s
urprised at the power of symbols flowing endlessly from the pages or scenes of t
his epic awesome. Behind this, however, there is something more than a fertile i
magination. Few people know that Tolkien created literally a language with its g
rammar and vocabulary for this work. And in fact, achieve consistency among the
many hundreds of pages and dozens of characters is not exactly what one would ca
ll a "game." But the playfulness is not never absent. There are some fun and ple
asure in it to transform the world by putting the trees to walk or designing uni
verses "to the letter." Is it pure fiction game? We could also ask to C. S. Lewi
s, author of the Chronicles of Narnia, a collection of writings from the same pe
riod that The Lord of the Rings (1950-1955). In both cases we have adults with a
solid intellectual and a complete command of the language (English, in both cas
es) who write literature "childish" at first glance but then turns out to have a
great impact among the population "adult." In fact, Tolkien or Lewis to one may
wonder if there is no more serious that we think of the children or if there sh
ould be more imagination in the world we think of the greats. The case of Lewis
invites us to take a further step in our analysis. Given his background as stron
g Christian, Anglican confession, many have discovered in the Chronicles of Narn
ia a kind of allegory that preaches the message of Jesus Christ on the staff of
the literature call fiction. The idea deserves to be taken into account by two v
ery strong reasons, at least: first, because fiction connects very easily with m
ass media, as demonstrated by the commissioning film Tolkien's trilogy, this doe
s not happen in the same as with other forms of expression of faith, as say, a t
reaty or a sermon. That is not going to tell you if you are sure sermons that ha
ve a "history." Secondly, there are times when Lewis does for us almost a parabl
e. The Lion, the Witch, the forest, become more than 8
characters for children. One might think that the parables of the gospel are als
o fictions, are also dances and games of words of things that we provide the val
uable service of letting us see the world differently.
8. Is the monarchy a huge game?
Innocent question: how to play would put a whole nation, that is, millions of pe
ople for decades? One possible answer is "giving them a king." Indeed, at least
in the West, has passed the time when kings reigned. The executive power rests w
ith Prime Ministers or their equivalents, who are elected by a process other and
far from the royal blood. However, there is always the royal whose role is from
the command to the carnival. As they say: incarnations of the national unity ta
lks or talk to a living room, or both. A notable case is the British royal house
that has probably accumulated more public scandals alone the rest of the Europe
an nobility.€It's easy for me to remember my early childhood gestures of anger
from my dad every time the news mentioned something about Queen Elizabeth or rec
harged on a family titles that appear to be at or below the standards of its own
people. "Why that this prince has the right to live as a drone in luxury more a
bsurd, at the expense of taxes from the citizens?" Asked my dad and wonder milli
ons of people. Today I think, along with other theories, is luminous in its simp
licity: we need to play kings. The life of kings, admired and ridiculed, stirs t
he imagination with a force that fail to take those with real power on issues as
forced as boring and flat taxes, projects, plans, laws ... all that is required
for the survival and progress of a country, but short to mind his desire to fly
, to dream, to imagine, or if we put it paradoxically: the need not to understan
d. And so: the mind needs to understand but you also need to face immense walls
and cliffs to be reminded that we took into infinity. An eternal enigma is as at
tractive or more than one good answer. Such is the fascination of philosophy, fo
r example. Nobody expects the question "what is the meaning of life?" be given a
solution by opening a book of nine
shelf. Such questions are asked to start thinking, to turn engines to infinity.
We need the mystery, secrecy, tradition inevitable sinking in the night of centu
ries inscrutable ... Something that provides royalty, at least to the British. S
omeone said that is a replacement of the faith, that now seems hopelessly lost.
I dare say more than that is a game, a huge game that allows the same old look -
the passions, possibilities and human misery - a new way, public and mystery to
gether. In addition, and serve to end, for a culture as the English, who has had
real tyrants on the throne, there is an additional value added to retain a roya
lty of pretend: to ensure that nobody will reign in the Buckingham Palace.
Adrenalina 9.La
Theoretically, the games serve to relax but it is a fact that stress is also a w
ay to play. Course: not a game any tension. Having a difficult debt payment can
hardly be called a form of play. However, a person in debt may want to play a li
vely game of squash for download from the emotions of this sport a lot of stress
in his life "real." Sometimes the stress takes the form not of an effort but a
challenge. To get something hard is a way of concentrating the powers and, if de
sired is achieved, raise self-esteem. Many hobbies and hobbies seem to go on thi
s line. I think for example people spend hours of painstaking attention to tryin
g to make a scale model of a ship of the sixteenth century. We can see his scowl
, his hands clenched, sweaty forehead: it is not easy to get the deck is exactly
in place, and yet in another sense it would not hurt if they look bad, except t
hat the challenge would not have been overcome. At other times still, the tensio
n is twinned with danger. Take a curve on a track more than 200 miles per hour i
s this: feel a blast of adrenaline, or even more than that feel alive, if only b
ecause it is defeating death. Playing in this case equates to appeal to the root
s of life, including whether it involves the potential loss of life. 10
It's not so easy to make a moral evaluation of such activities. I heard about th
e case of a Spanish boy who died instantly because it broke the cable that was h
olding a bridge which had jumped by the rules of "jumping." One can only regret
a thing and such a death can only be called absurd. Notwithstanding which, witho
ut wishing to devil's advocate, is not it absurd death also buried with papers i
n an office trying to keep oiled the wheels of a huge enterprise that feeds it,
the endless job of bureaucrats? I do not advocate any death but ask that life ha
s lost its flavor and color and aroma. Behind that "taste" people try to experie
nce all sorts of things, I have no doubt. Although there were other ways of appr
oaching the borders of death with something more creative and fruit. To this day
no death seems more noble to die giving life. It is not, can not be the same, i
mmolate himself for a bit of adrenalin to the extreme sacrifice so that others m
ay live.
10. And Jesus played?
Conclude these brief remarks with a question that I have not seen in any treaty
of Christology.€Perhaps theologians are seriously occupied with other things to
wonder if Jesus was playing. One can assume that every child plays for play and
learning become confused at certain stages of life, as suggested in some previo
us point. We can assume that Jesus had to play with words, rhymes, songs, dances
and small objects such as the vast majority of children. Some children's games
may have some degree of cruelty, injustice, falsehood or other faults, but I thi
nk it is extreme to say that every game involving sin to such an extent that can
not be said that Jesus played. On the other hand, we should not move to Jesus a
nd customs environment playful children of our time. I think there's a lot of ex
aggeration and selfishness in the lives of some children of this age, they seem
to come later adulthood without ever having more fun and be concerned that all t
he pleasure possible. Rural environments from a militarily occupied Galilee and
the very culture of antiquity that saw the job as inexorable fate since the boys
invite us to take romance to what we would call "youth" of the Son of
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God on this earth. Those guys had to be taught early to assume a life of strenuo
us tasks seriously and soberly, without drama or great pampering. This will be t
he language that we encounter in his preaching: direct, without much adornment,
just full of the beauty that comes as the things themselves in their reality and
true original. Another question has to do with Jesus' adulthood. A film about t
he life of the Lord has a time playing with his apostles. My theory is that this
way of looking at community life, rather than a figure emerging from the Script
ure as such, is a projection of our desire to make fraternal communities that ar
e joyful and united. It is tempting to project onto that seed of the church what
we want or desire to be the Church, that is, a place where you essentially "fee
ls good." This way of thinking our part to turn a way of understanding human rel
ationships, that is, that combination of courtesy, good humor, mutual entertainm
ent capabilities, shared leadership, and a thousand details that have their orig
in in the story of how we have learned to be social in recent centuries, especia
lly since the Enlightenment. Nothing in the Bible suggests that these twelve wer
e chosen humor, to play sports together or had sessions of jokes - things that t
o us seem the most natural. That does not mean that Jesus was a boring character
. I think not. Just the scale of things was different, his ability to read the w
orld and help others to read it was another, his way to be happy and share happi
ness and love are probably others. From the fascination of the real, Jesus was d
ancing before our eyes the deepest dimensions of the human heart and the Heavenl
y Father's plan. Perhaps it never said a joke but her smile remained forever wit
h us.
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