There Ya Go
From time to time, I like to troll news websites. Who doesn’t? Last Friday, on the eve of our celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I checked out the CNN website. Don’t worry, right-wingers, I also happened across the MSNBC site, too.
The CNN site, which as all know strives to shine only a negative light on current administration, led with a story about how President Trump is trying to make the 4th of July celebration about himself.
To be fair, Trump does like to make a lot of things about himself. He likes to take credit for things he probably shouldn’t. But what bothered me last week was the rabbit hole CNN never seems to emerge from — not even one day before the big celebration, when all we really should be taking notice of is our 250th.
So my question is, why even go there? Don’t you have enough fun trashing Trump the other 360-some days of the year?
This was Friday, July 3, when we’re all supposed to feel a bit more patriotic than we otherwise do. Because that’s what this year is for, isn’t it?
Our 250th birthday is not just about the 4th, and celebrating it should be a yearround event. Many of us won’t be around for our 300th, so we should take every moment to cherish our freedoms, this year more than any other year.
But for CNN, politics once again got in the way. How tragic. Granted, on the 4th, CNN actually had a political-free story, but still. Can’t we have at least two straight days without politics?
Anyway, moving on from talk about left and right and biased websites, this whole year has been laced with reminders of our 250th anniversary, and it’s been great. It ramped up even more late last week when American flags were basking in the breeze all over, and in places you normally don’t see them.
I spent some time Saturday morning taking photos of some flags in and around Tracy that sporadically popped up. With every snap of my shutter, I felt a bit more patriotic.
And patriotism, while it should be at the forefront every day, was manifested to another level even earlier than last week with the World Cup soccer tournament. Only some wedding in New York could upstage the Cup. At least the former is behind us now.
A couple weeks ago, I admitted that I wasn’t the biggest soccer fan in the world, save when I follow Natalie. However, I will admit, the World Cup has grabbed my attention — I am an American after all. One, we are host country, and that always opens our eyes, no matter the sport. Two, the U.S. team, which hasn’t exactly turned heads over the past few decades, surprised us all with their tournament run. Besides our success on the pitch, I have been taken aback by how this country has rallied behind the team, nay, behind the country. If you need proof that sports can unite people, this is it.
I have come to the conclusion that the fun this country is having, the patriotism we have all been feeling in our hearts, is about more than just the play of the team, or the sport of soccer for that matter. Americans, I believe, didn’t hop on the soccer team’s bandwagon as much as we have taken a seat on our country’s red, white and blue bandwagon.
Just look at what happened after those tournament victories. John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” ditty is more than a soccer soundtrack — it has temporarily replaced the “Star Spangled Banner” as our National Anthem.
Soccer will never replace football as this country’s No. 1 sport … never? … but it has at least for the summer.
