Cheering for Everyone

What If We Cheered for Everyone?

The other day, I found myself sitting at a volleyball game, keeping score for two teams I had no connection to. My daughter had already finished her games. I didn’t know the kids on either team, their families, or who was expected to win. Neither team was from my town.

To be honest, my wife volunteered me to help with score keeping.

As I sat there watching them play, I realized something. I wanted all of them to do well.

I wasn’t rooting for the team on the left or the team on the right. I wasn’t invested in the outcome. I just wanted those kids to give it their best, support their teammates, enjoy the game, and walk away feeling good about themselves. Of course, one team would win and the other would lose. That’s how competition works. But I didn’t need one team to fail for me to want the other to succeed.

And it got me thinking about America and where we are right now.

When did we become so invested in seeing our political team win that we started treating the other side as the enemy? When did the success of one party become more important than the well-being of the people this country is supposed to serve?

I want Americans to succeed. I want people to have opportunities, to live with dignity, to feel safe, and to believe they have a future worth working toward. I want us to be able to disagree about how to get there without losing sight of what we’re trying to accomplish.

But I also have reservations about simply cheering for everyone and hoping they’ll do the right thing.

Hope and accountability

Hope is important, but hope without accountability isn’t enough.

I’m tired of watching people in positions of power make decisions that hurt others and wondering whether they’ll ever face meaningful consequences. I’m tired of seeing the Constitution and the rule of law treated as important only when they’re convenient. I’m tired of the idea that winning an election somehow gives someone permission to do whatever they want until the next one.

It doesn’t.

Being elected doesn’t put someone above the law. Holding public office doesn’t make someone more important than the people they serve. And wearing the right political colors doesn’t excuse someone from taking responsibility for their actions.

If someone abuses their power, takes advantage of people, or violates the law, there should be consequences. Those consequences should come swiftly when the evidence supports them, and they should be meaningful. They should follow the law and respect due process, but they should not disappear because someone is wealthy, politically connected, or useful to the right people.

I don’t want accountability because I want to see people suffer. I want it because a country cannot function on trust alone when there is no reason to believe that the rules apply equally to everyone.

Without accountability, promises become empty words. Trust becomes something we’re expected to give without reason. And the people who follow the rules are left wondering why those who break them seem to get away with it.

That isn’t the America I want.

Holding people accountable

I don’t believe we should automatically root against our fellow Americans because they vote differently. I don’t believe someone becomes my enemy simply because they see the world differently than I do. And I don’t believe we should celebrate another person’s suffering just because it benefits our political side.

But neither do I believe we should cheer for people who deliberately harm others, undermine the principles this country was built upon, or treat the Constitution as an obstacle to their own ambitions.

There is a difference between wanting people to succeed and excusing what they do.

I can want someone to have a good life while holding them accountable for the harm they cause. I can believe in treating people with dignity without pretending that every action deserves approval. I can want unity without accepting injustice in the name of getting along.

Maybe that’s what I was feeling as I sat there watching those kids play. I didn’t need to choose a side to want those kids to do well. I could cheer for all of them because I wanted them to succeed as people, regardless of which team won.

I wish we could bring more of that spirit into our country, while remembering that a better future also requires responsibility, honesty, and accountability.

I want a better America. I want one where people look out for one another, where our differences don’t automatically make us enemies, and where those entrusted with power understand that they are accountable to the people they serve.

Not just accountable. Deeply accountable.

I want us to stop treating politics like a game where the only thing that matters is whether our side wins. The stakes are too high, and the people affected by those decisions are not just numbers on a scoreboard.

They’re our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our fellow Americans.

So yes, I want to cheer for people. I want to cheer for their happiness, their opportunities, and their ability to build better lives.

But I also want to see people held accountable when they use their power to hurt others. I want the Constitution to be respected, the rule of law to be upheld, and those principles to apply equally, regardless of who happens to be in charge.

I want to cheer for America. But I don’t want to cheer blindly. I want to see us become a country worthy of that cheer.