TEXT E When you think of the
tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have
developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans
because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We
may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We
may forgive them condescendingly because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously
knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority really justified Are we any
less blood - thirsty Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such
universal interest Don’t the spectators who attend them hope they will see some
violence Human beings remains as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only
difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest
enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and
eating them a live, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend
sports which should have been banned long age; sports which are quite as
barbarous as, say, public hangings or bearbaiting. It really is incredible that
in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull - fighting, that we
should be pre pared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp in a
boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a
number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Let us not deceive
ourselves. Any talk of the sporting spirit is sheer hypocrisy. People take part
in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing
to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight
championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are
disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel
disappointment because they have been deprived of the exquisite pleasure of
witnessing pro longed torture and violence. Why should we ban violent sports if
people enjoy them so much You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are
uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually
and emotionally admittedly with little success. But at least we no longer
tolerate the sight madmen cooped up in cages, or public floggings of any of the
countless other barbaric practices which were Common in the past. Prisons are no
longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in
operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute
wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have
suddenly and unaccountably improved, but because positive steps were taken to
change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have
and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent
sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would
recognize that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings. How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage