We’ve become a nation of haters.
We spend our free time, and even work and busy time, glued to a screen in our hands that has curated an algorithm to distract us. It distracts us from reality, stress, and sometimes rational and logical emotions about the world. The algorithm trapped us in echo chambers of angst and tethered us to opinions that we’ve irrationally come to believe are fact.
None of it is good. None of it is positive for our own well being, and oftentimes it’s not even reality.
That’s one of the reasons why sports are so important. They bring us together. At a time when we have been conditioned to hate opposing view points, sports bring us together.
It’s one of the reasons I love things like the Olympics and World Cup so much because for three to four weeks everyone can shut up a little about politics and just be united over sports and patriotism. It doesn’t always go that way, but it’s such a refreshing change to see a social media timeline full of cheering not jeering and yelling in unison instead of at each other.
You don’t have to love everything about America. We can disagree on politics. We can disagree on halftime shows. We can disagree on masks. We can do all those things. It doesn’t mean the disagreement needs to result in hating each other for it. There are a lot of things I don’t agree with in this country. Granted most of them revolve around the moon landing and people who think being vegan is a personality. Still, that doesn’t stop me from being any less proud of the country I am so fortunate to live in. It shouldn’t stop you either.
There are a lot of things we deserve apologies for in this life. When people wrong us, when someone doesn’t use a turn signal and cuts us off in traffic, and most of Luke Bryan’s music. All those things should come with an apology. Being proud of being an American shouldn’t. Especially on its 250th birthday.
I’ll get off my soap box now. Happy Independence Day to you and yours.
