Not My America

 

I was two years old when World War II ended in 1945. Since then, I have lived in an increasingly prosperous world with no world wars thanks to the farsighted post-war policies of America and other Allied nations. The United Nations and other international organizations created a global system of rules encouraging democratic governments, free trade, stable economies, guaranteed human rights, and more. A few years later, eight European nations plus the United States and Canada formed NATO to protect themselves from possible Soviet aggression. NATO now has 32 members (see map). For most of my life, America was the acknowledged leader of the “free world,” and I was proud to be a part of that.

Now comes an American president who criticizes the U.N., its International Court of Justice (a primary source of international law), and other foundations of the rules-based world order that has been successful for more than 75 years—so successful that it led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and its breakup into Ukraine and other independent states. Why would any president try to weaken the time-tested rules-based order? That’s not my America.

Likewise for NATO. A president who says “NATO has done nothing for us” has forgotten that after terrorists attacked the U.S., including his hometown, on 9/11/2001, NATO nations promptly sent troops and equipment to fight for us in Afghanistan and Iraq. Denmark fought alongside us until 2021, losing more soldiers per capita than we did. A president who doesn’t cherish NATO? That’s not my America.

And what about threatening to seize the Danish state of Greenland “one way or another”? Or killing shipwrecked Venezuelan sailors on the high seas in defiance of international law? Or failing to do everything possible to help defend Ukraine against Russian aggression? That’s not my America.

Closer to home, masked ICE agents have been conducting a reign of terror in Minnesota, killing two American citizens, yanking others from their cars, tear-gassing protesters, and even using a five-year-old boy as a lure to seize his father who is here legally. Last Friday, hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of residents protested with a general strike. Living in fear of aggressive, masked, armed stormtroopers is not my America.

When six congresspersons, all military or intelligence veterans, released a short video reminding active military members of their duty, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to not obey unlawful orders, the current president called them traitors who should be hanged. Secretary of Defense Hegseth has said that Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and astronaut, will have his retirement rank and pay reduced. Kelly is suing, as he should because he simply spoke the truth. This is not my America.

Fearing that Republicans will lose their House majority in the coming midterm elections, the current president schemed with the Republican Texas legislature and governor to gerrymander congressional districts halfway through the ten-year census redistricting in hopes of gaining a few new House seats. Fortunately, Californians, who are heavily Democratic, voted to do the same to offset any Texas gains. Governor Gavin Newsome was not pleased to cheat like that, but said the Texas cheating could not go unanswered. Again, not my America.

All this activity from the White House distracts from Mr. Trump’s falling poll numbers, many of which are the lowest since Nixon’s. Voters dislike his policies on immigration; the economy; healthcare; the cost of living; foreign relations, including Ukraine and Isreal-Gaza; and the Epstein files.

A  court ordered the Epstein sex-trafficking files to be released in December, but only a small fraction have been. What are they hiding? The Justice Department is breaking the law, which is their job to uphold. My father’s Greatest Generation would not approve. This is not the America they fought to save for me and for you.

                 Touchdown State

On December 22, Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt announced that the Chiefs will build a new $3 billion state-of-the-art domed stadium in Wyandotte County northwest of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 West. Scheduled to open in 2031, the project will include a mixed-use entertainment district near the stadium and a new team headquarters, training facility, and mixed-use development at a site in Olathe.

Governor Kelly said that this project will be “creating thousands of jobs, bringing in tourists from around the world, attracting young people, and, most importantly, we’re continuing to make Kansas the best place in America to raise a family. [It’s] a signal to America and the world that our state’s future is very bright.” Kelly added that Kansas “is not a flyover state. It’s a touchdown state.” 

According to Mr. Hunt, “The benefit to the entire region will be monumental. A stadium of this caliber will put Kanas City in the running for Super Bowls, Final Fours, and other world-class events. A brand new training facility and headquarters will allow the Chiefs to continue to attract top talent. And the vision for a new mixed-use district will rival that of any sports-anchored development anywhere in the country.”

Bipartisan support in the Kansas Legislature was key to approval of 60 percent state funding through sales taxes and STAR bonds. There will be no new taxes and no impact on the state budget.

Coincidentally, the December 8 New Yorker included a feature article, “Only Fans: The stadium goes luxe” by John Seabrook, describing the evolution from municipal stadiums prior to the 1970s to today’s luxury buildings like SoFi (a financial services company) in greater Los Angeles. SoFi is the NFL’s largest with a capacity of 100,000. It’s privately-funded cost was at least $5 billion, and SoFi pays around $30 million a year for naming rights.

Houston’s Astrodome, the world’s only domed stadium when it opened in 1965, began the evolution of stadiums from community centers for ordinary fans to luxury experiences with cushioned seats, gourmet food, and leased private suites. Prices soared—a family of four now pays an average of about $1300 to attend an NFL game—and the Astrodome’s Skybox suites turned nosebleed seats from the cheapest to the most costly. It wasn’t long before new stadiums moved luxury suites to lower levels. 

Kansas City’s Truman Sports Complex, opened in 1972, revolutionized the stadium concept by recognizing that football and baseball field geometries are incompatible. Arrowhead seats more than 76,000, the fourth largest in the NFL, and includes a several-story “apartment” with leased suites.

The Truman Complex made Kansas City the nation’s sports-architecture talent center with several firms, including Populous, the largest stadium designer, headquartered here. Populous designed the Buffalo Bills new stadium opening this year. Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm, recently opened a Kansas City office. 

Stadium design is challenging: the oval shape leads to odd angles and spacing for seating, so designers use computer programs to produce a range of options that can identify the most profitable seating pattern from standard to premium to suites. Seabrook wrote that in stadiums, “every inch of the space, and every sight line—not only to the field but also to the sponsor’s logos—is monetized. Stadiums may be the most rigorously monetized spaces on earth.” And economic studies consistently show that “owners, not taxpayers, derive most of the financial benefits.”

Will the new Chiefs stadium have more premium seating and amenities to cater to the wealthy, or will it buck the national trend and keep prices affordable for most fans? A director of Populous, Jonathan Mallie, says that any sports venue “should be something for everybody.” The Hunt family has a long record of being close to the community and has promised that cherished traditions like tailgating will be respected. Make it so.