Do you feel lucky to be an American? Those who
live in the United States
should feel grateful to call this country home, and the
FIFA Women’s World Cup
shows us why.
Unfortunately, the U.S. women’s national team has plenty of unpatriotic players, such as
Megan Rapinoe
, who have
complained
about our country and
knelt
during the national anthem over the years. Several members of the team refused to put their hands over their hearts during the national anthem before their first World Cup game last weekend.
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“I really do believe their version of what a feminist is, what it means to be an empowered woman, at least as an American woman, means you need to hate your country,” Megyn Kelly
said of the players
.
Yet, when Americans look at the other teams in this tournament, they should feel lucky to live in this country. The Women’s World Cup includes teams from countries with far worse problems than members of the American national team could imagine.
While the U.S. outlawed
most
of its slavery in the 1860s, the practice is widespread in Haiti and China.
Some people are so poor in Haiti that they sell their children as domestic servants, “restaveks,” for wealthier families. About
25%
of Haitian children 5 years old or older do not live with their biological parents, in large part because of this practice. These children face physical and sexual abuse at
far higher rates
than those who are not restaveks.
About 88% of Haitians live on less than $6.85 per day,
according to the World Bank
. Some Haitians are so poor that they eat dirt to fill their stomachs to feel less hungry. Similarly, about 61% of Zambian residents
live on
less than $2.15 per day.
Meanwhile, in China, there are at least 1 million Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps in the Xinjiang region. They perform
slave labor
, and the Chinese government uses forced birth control and forced abortions to reduce their population, which constitutes
genocide
. Like China, Vietnam also had a two-child policy, enforced with
fines
and
forced abortions
until 2017.
Even those who are not Uyghurs suffer under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, just as the Vietnamese suffer under communist rule. Both countries
jail
government
critics
, severely curtailing free speech and free press. Neither country would tolerate someone such as Rapinoe protesting their national anthem.
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And while Rapinoe has
complained
about states preventing men from dominating women’s sports, Zambia is
imprisoning
people for homosexuality.
The U.S. has its share of problems, but Americans could live under far worse circumstances in other countries. Thankfully, we do not, and some of our problems feel small compared to what millions in other countries endure.
Tom Joyce (
@TomJoyceSports
) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
