‘If America wants soccer’s passion, it should start with soccer’s past’
Nedra Rhone at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“In the U.S., new soccer fans of the 21st century fit into two categories: immigrants and their direct descendants and the highly educated,” says Nedra Rhone. In “Europe, South America and Africa, soccer has historically been the primary national sport with influence on politics, social mobility, national identity and international reputation.” While Americans “will never have the deep history with soccer that fans from other countries have, we can learn from and respect the sport’s influence on human and civil rights.”
‘Keep cameras out of the Supreme Court’
Ben Sasse at The Wall Street Journal
The Senate Judiciary Committee “unanimously advanced legislation last week that would require TV cameras in Supreme Court proceedings,” but “they shouldn’t turn the Supreme Court into a sister circus,” says former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). Cameras “turn conversations into performances.” It is “key to why Congress doesn’t work — and can’t be allowed to poison the judicial branch.” The Supreme Court “wasn’t designed to reflect the will of a majority or embrace the popular opinions of the day.”
‘Old people run America. And that’s a problem.’
Samuel Moyn at The Boston Globe
Americans “live under gerontocracy — a form of government of, by and for the old people,” says Samuel Moyn. This era “has the most elderly presidents ever elected,” while “Congress and the judiciary are also old folks’ homes.” But the “problem is deeper than aged politicians.” Gerontocracy is “actually a story of elder civic power.” It “doesn’t much matter how old the politicians are if old people still control the system.” Voters “can enact a series of policies to limit that power.”
‘Why “China First” will fail’
Patricia M. Kim at Foreign Affairs
As the United States “retreats from global leadership and challenges the norms it once fostered and the order it once upheld, the world is waiting to see whether Beijing steps up,” says Patricia M. Kim. But China is “not trying to replace Washington as a global leader or take on the burdens traditionally associated with superpower status.” Beijing “instead seeks global reach without entanglement, partnerships without binding obligations and great-power status without the burdens of leadership.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day