For the last two weeks, the United States of America has had two very different versions of patriotism playing out. For a sports fan, the Olympics represent one of the more patriotic events of the sporting calendar. Young athletes in a variety of sports are sent to compete for glory and national pride. Thanks to the efforts of NBC Sports, almost every moment of the Olympics is available to be viewed meaning a nation of sports fans can become enraptured in national pride as their favorite athletes strive for gold medals. Cheers can be heard across the country as millions of Americans nationwide rally together to support young people they will likely never meet. Names like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps become national talking points as people from all backgrounds are struck with Olympic fever.
In opposition to above mentioned Olympic fever, the nation has also been subjected to the machinations of a pair of political campaigns hell bent on seizing the seat of executive power in America this coming fall. The seemingly never ending negative rhetoric of the Trump campaign has sought to tear down his rival while his opponent tries to use the negativity to bolster her own campaign to win the ultimate prize. In some small way, the two political rivals are not unlike two Olympic athletes striving to achieve the victory on the ultimate field of competition. Where the Olympic athletes might be cheered on at sports bars across the country, the fans of the two politicians engage in similar battle on social media, cheering on their own choice while simultaneously trying to tear down their opposites. Both camps claim ownership of the nation's patriotism and seek to push their choice to the victory.
Indeed, the last two weeks have seen a display of extreme patriotism. It would just be nice if those engaging on the field of politics showed as much sportsmanship as those that take the field at the Olympics.
