If more Americans would show gratitude for our country, that would go a long way toward combatting the hate and anger that is destroying our country.
The summer Olympic ratings have been in the tank this year with NBC News wondering where all the viewers are.
“We’ve had some bad luck,” NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Shell said last week. “There was a drumbeat of negativity … and that has resulted in linear ratings being probably less than we expected.”
That “drum beat of negativity” is the “I hate America” mantra coming from so many of our woke athletes.
I have not watched one minute of the Tokyo Olympic games for the simple reason that I don’t want to be lectured by these ingrates.
But one American competitor turned all that around for me. Tamyra Mensah-Stock has single-handedly breathed new life into the moribund Olympic games.
By now every American must have seen the viral newsclip of Mensah-Stock, a member of the U.S. women’s wrestling team. The Texas native made history Tuesday as the first black woman from the United States to win a gold medal in wrestling at the Olympics.
But that’s not why she’s gone viral. Everyone is talking about her because instead of turning her back on the American flag, taking a knee, or making her win about identity politics, Mensah-Stock talked about three things after taking gold: God, hard work, and America.
“It’s by the grace of God I’m able even to move my feet,” she said after her historic win. “I just leave it in his hands, and I pray that all the practice, that the hell that my freaking coaches put me through, pays off. And every single time it does and I get better and better. And it’s so weird that there is no cap to the limit that I can do. I’m excited to see what I have next,” she said, tightly gripping an American flag wrapped around her.
“That American flag around your shoulders looks pretty good — how does it feel to represent your country like this?” asked a reporter.
“It feels amazing, I love representing the U.S., I freaking love living there,” Mensah-Stock beamed. “I love it, and I’m so happy I get to represent U–S–A!”
Imagine if all of America’s athletes loved our country as much as this patriot does!
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— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 3, 2021
You can hear the gratitude in Mensah-Stock’s voice and see the joy in her face. That’s when it struck me. That is what is lacking from the Woke mob in this country: gratitude. The radical left is has no gratitude. And when you have no gratitude, you cannot be happy. This young woman radiated real happiness. Not just happiness over having won a gold medal and making Olympic history, but happiness for the opportunity to compete and represent her country.
Mensah-Stock’s proud patriotism and gratefulness, not to mention her gold medal is a stark contrast to the displays several other members of Team USA have displayed in Tokyo this summer, namely from the women’s soccer team. Last month, the USWNT took a knee for BLM and then lost 3-0 to Sweden before continuing their woke-yet-losing streak falling 1-0 to Canada in the semifinals
Americans are at each other’s throats right now over almost everything. So much seems to divide us. But if we could each just be grateful for America and be proud of our country, I am sure happiness levels would rise and hate would dissipate. That’s not just wishful thinking, as the left is fond of saying, “it’s science.”
According to a report from Harvard Medical School:
The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
According to Harvard researchers, here are some ways to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis:
Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person’s impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.
Thank someone mentally. No time to write? It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.
Keep a gratitude journal. Make it a habit to write down or share with a loved one thoughts about the gifts you’ve received each day.
Count your blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number — such as three to five things — that you will identify each week. As you write, be specific and think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.
Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude.
Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as “peace”), it is also possible to focus on what you’re grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).
I will start by thanking Tamyra Mensah-Stokes for being a proud American.
Catherine Mortensen is Vice President of Communication for Americans for Limited Government.
