The pro basketball players decided to go on strike, I’m not truly sure why. For that matter, I’m not sure they know why. The pro baseball players have decided not to play. The pro football players have decided to take a knee during The National Anthem.

They all make one mistake. They seem to think they are important. Because they draw a big salary and millions of people watch them, they seem to think they contribute something to society.

They all have big egos because people seek their autograph and wear their shoes. Men fight over the fowl ball hit by one of them. Yet, truth be told, if they all did absolutely nothing for the rest of their lives, the world would not lose a thing.

To be sure, those businesses around the stadiums would suffer. Those who sell the souvenirs would suffer for a while. TV and radio stations would have to find something else to air, but in the end, not one of them would truly be missed.

The actors, directors and producers of Hollywood fame also have the big egos. They think that what they do and what they produce is a necessity of life. The truth of the matter is that not one of them produced a grain of food. Not one of them makes an air-conditioner or automobile.

They all speak to the public as if they know something. However, most actors know nothing more than what is put in their mouth by screenwriters. None of them produce anything more than fantasies. If they all sat down and twiddled their thumbs, the world would be just fine. We would be forced to find something else for entertainment. We might actually play our own games. Some of us might turn to reading books. However, our world, our country and each municipality would be just fine without them all.

So. I ask, just what makes them think they are so important? Is there anything you can put your finger on that they contribute to solve the world’s problems. Why do they think the world spins around them. What makes them think that the world would fall apart without them.

To some degree, the networks are at fault. They pay the teams fortunes to let them air their games. As an aside they advertise the games. They advertise the teams and they imply the importance of the superstar. They get us all involved in points per game, completed passes, and home-runs.

When all is said and done, or, as they really like to say nowadays, “at the end of the day,” none of it matters. It is a fact that they would rather keep quiet. They don’t want us to know how unimportant they are. They want us to believe the world of economics would implode without the all important games.

Just because a man can throw a ball through a hoop, that doesn’t make him one bit smarter. When one of those big famous characters says something, remember, most of them never worked a day in the real world. Some played games for a living. Some pretended to be other people for a living. S were actually kings and queens… in movies. Some have nothing else on their mind other than a little round ball, or a big one. Most of them know nothing else. They have trained all their lives to be able to throw, hit, catch or kick the things. (I’m sure I must have left something out, but you get the idea.)

So, when one of them decides to go on strike, at the end of the day, guess what. I don’t care. It causes me no pain. If the whole bunch never returned to play a game or make a movie, it would mean nothing to me. Baseball, basketball and football are forms of entertainment. Movies, TV shows and stage plays are nothing. I don’t need any of it and neither do you. Don’t let them convince you otherwise.

More important, don’t let them convince you that they are smarter just because they wear a jersey. Don’t let them convince you that they know what they are talking about because they can memorize a script. Not one of them has the ability to put a roof over your family. Not one of them can produce an once of food for you. All their work is less important than the water you drink or the air you breath.

And, by the way, the air you breath is free, at least for now.