You can almost always hear the Willard Preacher, but how often do you catch yourself really listening? If you do, you might find his arguments compelling, or preposterous, but chances are you're inclined to just unconsciously block him out as you make your way to or from class.
Why? Because even if you have a strong stance on the issue at hand, it really isn't the time or the place.
Kind of like what Martha Burk is doing in Augusta this weekend.
If you don't know already, Burk, the president of the National Council of Women's Organizations, has been all over the news for the better part of the past year crusading for the admittance of female members in Augusta National, the club that has hosted the Masters for each of the tournament's 70 years.
Burk's public battles with William "Hootie" Johnson, the eccentric club president who said he would not be intimidated into admitting women "at the point of a bayonet," have caused quite a stir already. Augusta dropped the tournament's three corporate sponsors -- Citigroup, IBM and Coca-Cola -- in August, leaving the $20 million in television costs to be split between the club and CBS, which is televising this year's tournament commercial-free.
And the protest scheduled for tomorrow morning, in which eight different groups will be participating, has also grabbed plenty of headlines in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
Burk's cause is a worthy one. Augusta should admit female members, and regardless of what you hear from Hootie, someday will. And it will be the result of Burk (after being spurred last April by a column by USA Today's Christine Brennan) setting the wheels in motion.
But although what Burk and her fellow protestors are trying to do this weekend is both noble and responsible, their timing could be a lot better.
A federal appeals court Wednesday rejected Burk's emergency appeal to protest outside Augusta's front gate, an area smaller than the side steps to the Willard Building. Sheriff Ronald Strength, fearing congestion at the gate, will only allow protestors to assemble a half-mile away.
Short of laying down on the green in someone's line, it doesn't really matter where Burk will be protesting. It's her choice of venue that is the problem. What better place than Augusta to protest the policies of Augusta?
Here's the thing: Burk can't bring down the Masters. Maybe she'll someday bring down Hootie, maybe she'll someday bring down Augusta National, but she isn't going to stop this tournament from going on, and in doing so is wasting her time and might even be hurting her cause, like she did when she compared her battle to that of our females in the service.
It's doubtful whether CBS Sports will cover tomorrow's protest; it will most likely be CBS News. But the millions watching on television aren't the audience Burk should be concerned with -- Hootie and his fellow green jackets are. Trying to coerce the likes of Tiger Woods, who has shattered enough barriers already, into making a stand won't do it. Neither will continuing to apply pressure to corporate sponsors of the Masters and the PGA Tour -- just turn on your TV this afternoon as proof.
What Burk and the NCWO are trying to do is somewhat akin to a kid asking to play with his brother's toy. The brother might not even want to play with the toy, but the more pressure the kid applies, the less likely his brother will be to give it up.
One day, women will turn off of Washington Road and drive through the front gate as members. Hootie may or may not be around to see it. But if anything truly newsworthy happens this weekend in Augusta, it will happen on the golf course.
