I hope Donald Trump managed to find a TV monitor from his perch at the World Cup championship game over the weekend. Spain’s win over Argentina was thrilling. Even better was one of the TV ads, which could give the president of the United States a lesson in humanity if he stayed awake long enough to see it.
The commercial was a 30-second spot for Airbnb called “What the World Gets.” It’s a montage of images from around the globe, celebrating how different cultures blend to create new food and music and games.
A voiceover asks, “Did you know that salsa was invented when Puerto Ricans took Cuban rhythms to New York? Brazilian jujitsu was born when the Japanese took judo to Brazil.
“When North African frying traditions met Spanish dough, Spain made the churro. When Jamaicans took their sound system to the U.K., the world got punk.”
Then, as the screen shows soccer action (which the rest of the world calls “football”), we get flashes of the game and its fans in all their mad passion.
And the voiceover tells us, “And this? This is what the world gets when 48 nations meet to play one beautiful game.”
Then there’s a closing title: “The world is meant to meet.”
Here’s the beautiful thing about those 48 nations and the various cultures they bring to each other: We’ve got all 48 of them, plus others, right here in America. And we’ve got a name for millions of these people.
We call them “Americans.”
At least, they’re here for now.
They’re here until Trump and his toxic little henchman Stephen Miller complete their attempt to rid this nation of all but acceptable white people who can trace their roots back at least as far as the Mayflower.
Trump wants to do this because it works for him politically and appeals to him emotionally, since he’s happiest when he’s bullying somebody. It works for him politically because half the nation forgets that all our families came here, somewhere along the way, from the very same place: Somewhere Else.
Miller wants to do it because he’s trying to get back at the whole world. You look at that face, contorted into pure malevolence, and know that this guy was beaten up on the playground every day when he was a kid — probably by teachers. And his life has been a “get even” crusade ever since.
Trump has been trying to rid America of its immigrants ever since he rode that elevator down from Trump Tower and said other nations were bringing “their rapists” here.
Thus, overlooking their scientists, writers, doctors and teachers, and hard-working laborers and families who make their way here because once upon a time they heard America welcomed such people, and they also heard America gave everyone a fair shot.
That Airbnb TV spot reminded me of all this. It was 30 seconds of pure joy. It was people from around the world hoping a miracle might happen and make their country win a championship among 48 nations.
But look how lucky we are. We’ve already got pieces of those 48 nations right here. They play soccer, yes. And they bring us all the other cultural richness from their countries of origin.
At least for now.
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, including “Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore” (Johns Hopkins University Press) and “Michael Olesker’s Baltimore: If You Live Here, You’re Home” (Johns Hopkins University).
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