I’m a big NFL fan. American football is the only game I can watch no matter what teams are playing. It’s a pleasurable diversion that lets me really enjoy the weekend during the fall and winter seasons.
The Super Bowl is like a holiday, not just for me, but for most football fans. For years, one of the best parts about this annual event has been, of course, the commercials. This is when companies spend millions of dollars on spots that they hope will stick in the minds of watchers and have them talking about them for the next several days.
Then along came 2020, a year that could not have made more clear the divisions between Americans. Three obvious events took place that brought our fissures to the surface:
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- The response to COVID-19. While President Trump did declare an national state of emergency toward the beginning of the pandemic, it was mostly the governors of the 50 states who implemented their own policies in response. I need not go into many of the draconian measures taken to “stop the spread,” but not too long after these actions were taken, people became divided on this issue.In general terms, one side thought it absolutely necessary to keep people locked in their homes, close businesses and schools, and make people wear masks, even outdoors. The other side saw this as a blatant violation of their Constitutional rights and civil liberties, all for a virus with a 99.5% survival rate. Those who went against the former view of the situation were demonized as science deniers who want grandmothers to die. Conversely, those against lockdowns viewed the pro side as mindless sheep who didn’t care about the consequences – economic and health-related (mental and physical).
- The BLM protests/woke movement. This came to a head after the death of George Floyd during the spring of 2020. While claiming to fight for racial equality, the Black Lives Matter protests that took place following Floyd’s death often resulted in billions of dollars of damage to businesses, as well as the loss of life. Throughout it all, there were those who viewed the BLM protests as riots perpetrated by criminals who needed to be held legally accountable for their actions, and those who viewed them as justified expressions by the “voice of the unheard.”
- The 2020 election. Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, President Trump had repeatedly declared that the process would be rigged due to the enormous effort to get people to vote by mail, rather than present themselves physically at polling locations and risk infection from COVID-19. Then Joe Biden was declared the winner after several days and many controversies involving vote counts and changes in election laws implemented by several key battleground states. Therefore, Trump felt he had legitimate grounds for his claims of election fraud, and over the next several weeks, carried that flag. His voters became more convinced that the Democrats stole the election and cheated Trump of his victory. News outlets would play down these assertions, giving them no legitimate consideration or investigation, further fueling the animosity among Trump’s base. Of course, we all know what happened at the Capitol Building on January 6.
How does this all tie back to the NFL and the Super Bowl commercials? Thanks for sticking with me.
While predictably, there was a myriad of anti-racism/woke gestures from the NFL and companies who bought ad time during the event, one had a message of unity. It was a Jeep ad that featured Bruce Springsteen, who recited what sounded like song lyrics composed to promote a feeling of togetherness… I assume now because Orange Man was no longer in the Oval Office.
In the ad, Springsteen drives through a rural area, seemingly taking in the “heart” of America. Here are some of the sentimental lines from the ad:
Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, it’s (freedom) what connects us.
And we need that connection. We need the middle.
We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground.
We can get there. We can make it to the mountaintop. Through the desert, and we will cross this divide.
Our light has always found its way through the darkness
And there’s hope, on the road, up ahead.Then the graphic appears: To the ReUnited States of America.
Isn’t that lovely? Unfortunately, it’s complete bullshit.
For the reasons outlined previously (and these events are just in 2020!) there is no middle anymore; no compromise to be found. The fissures are so deep between Americans that the ousting of Trump and the installation of Biden isn’t going to fix that. If anyone thinks Americans are going to come together and once again share some kind of common national identity, all I can say is, good luck with that.
The division between Americans didn’t spontaneously appear because Donald Trump was elected; it’s been a bubbling pool of lava just waiting to escape the volcano. A senile septuagenarian and the first black female veep won’t inspire a sense of unity.
Apart from the reasons I outline in my Why Break Up? page, let’s revisit reason #3 from this post: Half of American voters honestly believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump and that Biden is an illegitimate president… you know, kinda like how the other half of American voters honestly believed the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary Clinton and that Trump was an illegitimate president installed with the help of the Russians.
Does anyone honestly think this will get better? Does anyone see any glimmer of hope that Americans will just forget everything leading up to this point and NOT view every future election automatically as rigged against their side?
The question answers itself.
Let’s be adults and honest with ourselves – we cannot sustain this system that’s been broken for decades. Our cultural differences are too deep to have any chance of finding common ground on any issues that matter.
It’s time to divorce from one another and admit we cannot go on sharing one political system with others who hold such animosity for the other side.
Sorry Bruce. Nice gesture. But if you really cared about saving America, you’d start to see the wisdom in breaking it up before things get really ugly.
- The response to COVID-19. While President Trump did declare an national state of emergency toward the beginning of the pandemic, it was mostly the governors of the 50 states who implemented their own policies in response. I need not go into many of the draconian measures taken to “stop the spread,” but not too long after these actions were taken, people became divided on this issue.In general terms, one side thought it absolutely necessary to keep people locked in their homes, close businesses and schools, and make people wear masks, even outdoors. The other side saw this as a blatant violation of their Constitutional rights and civil liberties, all for a virus with a 99.5% survival rate. Those who went against the former view of the situation were demonized as science deniers who want grandmothers to die. Conversely, those against lockdowns viewed the pro side as mindless sheep who didn’t care about the consequences – economic and health-related (mental and physical).
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