Karan writes that I’ve been “quick to criticize our own country’s players” and asks why I’m disloyal to American athletes. This is a hasty assumption.
First, I don’t always root for the underdogs; I have sympathy for the Chinese because they’ve endured an incredible amount of hardship in athlete factories (a system I absolutely disagree with). My sympathy stems from compassion, not disloyalty.
Second, I do root for Americans. In my blog “The Olympics are here,” I urged, “Let's root for our incredible athletes” and talked about sports fostering US patriotism. Also note my “Phelps is still a phenom” blog, which is full of praise for his amazing performance.
I’m not being disloyal to American athletes, just pointing out commercialism here and misfortune abroad. I consider informed individuals who criticize public officials and policy to be extremely patriotic, not disloyal; the same goes for athletics and American society.
Patriotism often entails bringing up less-than-pretty issues for scrutiny, not for putting forward a happy-go-lucky-non-offensive face. That’s why we have freedom of speech, and part of what makes us America.
In this instance, I’m not letting patriotism blind me to other athletes who’ve worked equally hard and deserve admiration, support, and encouragement as well. Patriotism shouldn’t override fairness, open-mindedness, and the spirit of international brotherhood.
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