The World Cup has come...and gone. And the weeks of enjoyable watching (some of us over-dosing) have also come and gone. And the winner is ... Germany. They're Number One.
In our travels, there have been times when we were in some European town or another when the home team won a football match (that's soccer to those in the USA) and at the close of the game, which the whole town seemed to have watched on television, the jubilant fans poured into the streets, jumped in cars and drove around, honking and yelling. No doubt, that same kind of celebration happened in Germany after they won the 2014 World Cup.
The USA acquitted itself rather well--better than some people thought they might. The success of the US team helped garner new football/soccer fans for this sport that is the most popular in the world.*
I am one fan who was somewhat relieved when the US didn't advance any more than they did. Why, you might ask? Mostly because I find US fans insufferable when it comes to chanting "We're Number One." Or, if you will , the variation of that which is USA USA USA USA ad nauseum.
I don't even know what it means anymore when someone chants (seemingly endlessly) USA. Does it mean we're Number One? In what? Does it mean we're the best? At what?
The sad thing is that we have become a reductive nation where mindless chanting seems to have taken the place of really trying to be the best at something. It is quite startling to me that people who would chant USA USA are also the people who seem to say--stay away stay away.
We find ourselves in the middle of an immigration crisis. True, that statement could have been made many times during the history of our country--and even the history of before it was "our" country. No doubt, native Americans in what is now Massachusetts, or in Virginia, could rightfully have said--we have an immigration problem.
The nightly news has been displaying agonizing scenes of children--from little ones around four years old up to teens--all without parents, the same desperate parents who sent these children on a perilous journey rather than risk having them be killed by gangs. Frankly, these are heart-breaking scenes. And once the children cross into the US (we're number one country) they are met with angry citizens (I always wonder how long ago these people emigrated) who try to turn them away.
Now, before I go further--I have to confess that this incredibly complex and awful situation is one which I think demands a solution. And I don't think the solution is simply to say--oh, let endless streams of parentless children come to the US. That is a sociological nightmare in the making. So I am not HAPPY that the floodgates have opened. But it is plain heartless to beat on the buses bearing these children and to scream at them in red-faced anger and naked hatred.
We might even take a step back and ask ourselves--how have we contributed to the problem. What is the problem? Many parents say they so fear for their children's lives in the home country, where gang violence is rampant and small children are recruited into various aspects of the ever-burgeoning (illegal) drug economy. To whom do the drug lords sell their products? Where do the drugs go? To the USA. So, we own this problem, whether we like it or not.
I wish I had as ready a solution as I have a description of the problem. I don't. I do know that the problem was not caused by our current President. In fact, the reason the children crossing the border are not immediately deported is because of a law that George W. Bush signed while he was president. The intent of that law was to prevent people trafficking in children from bringing children across the border for illegal use. Talk about unintended consequences.
Maybe we should be more welcoming of these children from Central and South America. Who knows--maybe one of them will become a star football (soccer) player in 10 years or so, and may even play for the USA team in a future World Cup.
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* http://sporteology.com/top-10-popular-sports-world/
1. Soccer
2. Cricket
3. Basketball
4. Hockey
5. Tennis
6. Volleyball
7. Table tennis
8. Baseball
9. (Tie) American football/ Rugby
10. Golf
