patriotism

And so, sports represent the best and worst parts of a nation: Its pure victories and rampant pride, but also its refusal to listen to changing times.

Sports represent the best and worst parts of a nation: Its pure victories and rampant pride, but also its refusal to listen to changing times.

This country isn’t perfect — nothing is perfect — and while I recognize its vast imperfections, I’m still proud and grateful to be an American. 

The problem with aligning myself to any country is that others immediately expect me to be patriotic. I am expected to have expressed devotion and support to any one of “my countries” without question and to obviously carry all my countries’ values with me.

I felt as though I was embarking a journey with complete strangers, like we shared something in common that was often overlooked in our rushed daily lives, which we conduct by creating walls of difference rather than bridges of community. For a moment, the anxiety of interacting with strangers was gone.