Not the Headlines -- Criticism or Racism?

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The Listening Tube presents not the headlines.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

I'm Bob Woodley from The Listening Tube. America's big celebration for its 250th anniversary has come and gone, and the United States men's soccer team has been eliminated from the World Cup. I found both of these occasions to be quite revealing. Many say there is a political divide in the United States, and that may be true, but the divide seems to go much deeper than politics. The divide has now drilled down to the very core of America's foundation. Those on the right are divided into one side that mostly supports the status quo, yet strives to create a more perfect union. And those who believe we've strayed too far from the Constitution and need to get back to the basics. On the left, the division is between true Democrats, who also want to strive for a more perfect union, and those who want to destroy the Constitution and society as we know it and rebuild it in some other way, but similar to socialism, along with bigger government involvement in our everyday lives, contrary to the current Constitution.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Well, that can't be right.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

In addition to the new form of government, they also want to eliminate borders and prisons. They want to use the power of political office to benefit foreign countries ahead of and at the expense of American citizens. It's not just a different American government system, it's an entirely different worldview. They neglect to recognize that the American system is successful in any way and can only be eliminated, not fixed. Not made better. No striving for a more perfect union. They criticize everything about the country despite the opportunity and success that's been the hallmark of America. It's the reason people from all over the world want to be in America.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

You can hang your hat on that.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

They also fail to recognize the individualism and entrepreneurship that created all the wealth they want to distribute for us. They punish success while they rely on it to pay for their programs. They'll destroy the entire system that way, and maybe that's what they want, but they haven't a way to sustain it once all the success is punished out of the people who are making a lot of money. Nevertheless, the criticism must continue at all costs. The United States cannot experience anything beneficial while Donald Trump is president, so that it will be easier to convince fools that their way is better. That's the political part. The deeper part is that the division has led to a lot of people in America who are offended by anything American. Sonny Hostin from The View said she was fearful for her safety when she strayed into a neighborhood with a generous portion of American flags flying from homes and vehicles. She seems to think that white supremacists have somehow commandeered the American flag for their use alone. Therefore, anyone who flies an American flag from their home is a white supremacist. What a racist ignoramus. Does she not know that black people also fly the American flag? Maybe her circle of friends is afraid to show their patriotism when she's around. They put their American flags in the closet when Sunny comes over, otherwise they'll have to hear about how they scare her after she took a wrong turn into the suburbs. She's turned her prejudice into a symptom of a problem for all of America when it's really just her personal problem. She doesn't have a solution to anything. She's not striving for a more perfect union. She just vilifies the American flag. That's not politics. Then there's Joy Reed. The elimination of the United States soccer team from the World Cup was exactly what she wished for. She and a guest recently agreed that it's best for America to lose to Belgium so that Donald Trump couldn't exploit the victory. This narrow-minded view disregards the fact that, at the most basic level, it's the men on the team who had the most to gain from continuing on in the tournament. But Joy doesn't care about those men. She would rather see them fail than give the President of the United States an opportunity to share with his fellow Americans the joy of victory. That's politics and moral failure as an American. So far, we've only heard about whose failure would make Joy happy. So does Joy have a favorite to win the big tournament? Kinda. After saying she couldn't celebrate America's anniversary as a black person in America. Wait. Didn't this lady have a television program? In America? Anyway, she added, I'm rooting for all the African teams. I'm being very open about it. I'm rooting for the African teams. I want one of them to win. I think it would be so great for the global south, for an African team to take home the big prize. Joy didn't bother to name a team. She may have chosen Africa because of her own heritage. Her father was from the Congo, and they have a team in the tournament. The Congo Leopards. The fighting leopards! She could have said she was supporting the team from Congo because that's where her father was born. But she didn't. She said any African team, or what she called the global south. Part of Africa is north of the equator and part is south of the equator. Based on her description, we're looking at countries south of the equator or the global south in Africa. Based on what we know about Joy Reed, we could reasonably conclude that what she really meant was a team from a predominantly black country. Like, oh, I don't know, the Democratic Republic of Congo? Where her dad was born? Now, to Joy's credit, the area of the Congo spreads both north and south of the equator, not being entirely in either hemisphere, so her own racism may have precluded her from recognizing that her father's homeland had a team in the tournament. It's more likely that she didn't have a clue which countries had a team in the tournament. Otherwise, she would have known that the only country that has a team in the geographic area that she describes an African team from the global South is South Africa. The former land of apartheid, the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, the place where a white minority ruled over a black majority until well into the 20th century. So that's who Joy Reed was rooting for. Anybody but the United States.com. As for her and Sonny Hostin and the rest of the people who claim the United States is an embarrassment and a failing country while hiding behind the Constitution of the United States, maybe it's time you took another look at how your racism and prejudices are blinding you from the reality that enables you to be so incredibly ignorant of the vast freedoms and opportunities you have. Because if you look at the two teams that beat Congo and South Africa in the World Cup, Canada and England, you'll learn that neither of those two countries have freedom of speech. The same freedom you use to demonstrate your contempt for the country that guarantees you have it.