FIFA AND PATRIOTISM ON FULL DISPLAY

With the 4th of July and our nation's 250th anniversary right around the corner, tradition dictates that we will erupt in patriotic fervor. However, given our increasingly divided country, the intensity with which our citizenry is expected to approach our cultural celebration this year may well be diminished or even controversial. This is not meant to suggest that, in general, people are less patriotic today than they were in the past. It merely presumes that, given current political schisms, for many, our definition of what we understand the substance of how we should express our patriotism differs markedly from that of our national leadership. "Patriotism" simply refers to the love, pride and devoted support of one's country. Key characterizations include nationalism, loyalty and allegiance. It does not mean unquestioned obedience to national leaders, hatred of others or an excuse to ignore the nation's flaws. It is not a mythologized spectacle that celebrates our nation's promises while ignoring historic and current injustices. However,a significant segment of our citizenry has lately accused our current national leadership of promoting substantially exactly much of the latter. Consequently, our exhibition of patriotism at large might well be diminished in intensity as a result of our growing political divide. Dominant objectives of patriotism include uniting diverse factions under shared values, fostering national unity by giving a population unity of purpose, and, in the process, promoting a sense of civic responsibility and inspiring citizens to actively support and improve their country. However, lately we appear unable to rally around widely shared objectives to accomplish anything close. Freedom 250's flagship event, "The Great American State Fair" on the National Mall, was kicked off by a campaign-style rally from Donald Trump who is scheduled to deliver another on July 4. This has drawn criticism for turning a national celebration into a political event, prompting at least seven Democrat-led states and multiple musical acts to pull out of the affair. Adding to the controversy, the U.S. Mint plans to issue a 250th commemorative gold coin bearing Donald Trump's likeness. Beverly Gage, a Yale University historian, observed,"The very idea of celebrating has become political and partisan. What is striking about our moment is how widespread the pessimism seems to be." A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in five Americans will not celebrate Independence Day. Many are grappling with fundamental questions of whether partisanship has fractured voters to the point of questioning if there still are unifying principles or whether partisanship has superseded patriotism. This state of affairs could be depressing, if not for the coincidentally well-timed concurrence of the unifying exhibitions of support for national soccer teams during the FIFA world cup. While by no means comparable to our traditional history-based celebration the world cup offers an exciting unifying distraction for many of us to grab on to. The competition unites the world by transforming a shared global passion into a universal language that transcends borders, politics and cultures. It literally brings billions of viewers and fans together, fostering international camaraderie and mutual respect. It brings nations together by bridging cultural divides creating vibrant hubs where supporters from dozens of countries proudly wear their colors, share traditions, and celebrate side by side. Notably, even though the Trump administration attempted to make participating challenging for them, even Iran fielded a national team, which played their group-stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle. No other sporting event compares in size. The global stage commands massive viewership, uniting roughly half the world's population to watch a single shared event, connecting strangers everywhere. The exuberance associated with the world cup could serve as a timely replacement for the wanting intensity traditionally linked to our national independence celebration. The sport transcends our political divisions and helps unite us in support of a national endeavor. Theo Wierdsma