I used to love to watch the Olympics. The best part was when an American athlete won a gold medal, and they would play the national anthem. There would be a pride that would infuse through me as I’m sure it did through many other hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Has there been more of a thrill in watching sports than in seeing the United States 1980 Olympic hockey team defeat the Soviet Union?
It’s not like that now.
Oh, yes, I still consider myself patriotic. I love my country. What I love is what my country can and should be. What I don’t love, and what no longer infuses pride through me, is what my country has become.
I would like to feel joy in a victory by an American athlete. As I watch the Olympics now, though, I don’t think I can. The flag that will be raised when an American wins a gold will represent today’s America – Trump’s America – not mine.
To the extent that a country’s victories in the Olympics is interpreted as a reflection of that country’s strength, I will take some joy in seeing the Americans fail now if it will in some way reflect Trump‘s America’s weakness.
We have to get the America back that I used to root for.
We were right 