Sunday’s Chicago Bears game served as an unexpected allegory for everything wrong with President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
asserted
game → serve → Party
Nearing halftime and down 3-6 in a rainy affair in Chicago, the Bears were hoping to secure a score before heading into the locker room.
asserted
Bears → near → room
On a second down of a penalty-saturated possession, quarterback Caleb Williams called for the snap out of a shotgun formation and almost instantaneously found himself barreling the wrong way out of the pocket, abandoning his progressions.
asserted
himself → saturate → progressions
As Williams fled right, his internal clock telegraphed the two dueling options: throw the ball away or take the sack.
asserted
clock → flee → sack
Just as he was clipped, Williams threw a dart toward the ground near the chain gang out of bounds, presumably intending to regroup and start fresh with a new play.
asserted
Williams → clip → play
But a penalty flag came in from the side judge.
asserted
flag → come → judge
In the NFL, a quarterback is allowed to throw the ball away if he gets out of the pocket, but the thrown ball must pass the line of scrimmage in flight.
asserted
ball → allow → flight
Williams’s throw landed several feet shy of that mark.
asserted
throw → land → mark
That is defined in Rule 8, Section 2, Article 1, Item 1 of the 2026 NFL Rulebook: “Intentional grounding will not be called when a passer, who is outside, or has been outside, the pocket area, throws a forward pass that lands at or beyond the line of scrimmage extended (including when the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or endline), even if no offensive player(s) have a realistic chance to catch the ball.”
The reaction(s) to the flag provide a curious assessment of the moment, and of our nation.
asserted
reaction(s → define → nation
The reaction of the fans, the defensive players, and the offensive players presents a dichotomy between what we want and what we ought to do.
asserted
we → present → what
The defensive players and fans reacted predictably.
asserted
players → react → ?
The defenders proudly welcomed the penalty they had extracted, putting the Bears in an unenviable 3rd and 35.
asserted
they → welcome → 3rd
The fans booed, assuming the referees had failed to adjudicate correctly.
asserted
referees → boo → ?
But the offensive players reacted in a way that is probably the ideal form when the play’s context is taken into consideration.
asserted
context → react → consideration
The linemen practiced some light self-flagellation for letting the blitz reach the quarterback, while the QB shook his head in disappointment that his good idea wasn’t executed within the parameters of the rule.
asserted
idea → practice → rule
He should have thrown it further upfield.
asserted
He → throw → it
Play continued with the Bears on 3rd and 35.
asserted
Play → continue → 3rd
That moment between the throw and the following down’s snap is something that I appreciate about America — certainly as an immigrant from a place very different from the United States, Russia.
asserted
I → follow → States
Rather, I should say: this is something I appreciated about America.
asserted
I → say → America
The America of today, vexed, transformed, and situated into that moment between the throw and the following snap would order much differently, I think.
asserted
I → vex → throw
The America represented by today’s political majority would likely react in the following manner.
asserted
America → represent → manner
Upon the penalty flag being thrown, the nation would argue that the line of scrimmage had been incorrectly applied even before the snap.
asserted
line → throw → snap
When the referees would [correctly] declare that anything happening prior to the snap may no longer be reviewed, the country would challenge them again — demanding that the referee consider the context of the throw and reward the quarterback for the totality of the play: the scamper from invading defenders, the acrobatic step toward the sideline, and the impeccably timed throw preventing the sack or impending fumble.
uncertain
referee → declare → sack
The player-turned-modern-America would argue that he did enough to warrant lifting the flag and registering the throw as simply an incompletion.
asserted
he → turn → incompletion
Fans in this imagined dystopian scenario would demand a replacement umpire sympathetic to their cause simply because they want their imagined outcome.
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they → imagine → outcome
Rule 8 should not apply here.
asserted
Rule → apply → ?
Every week a different adjudication based on who is playing at home.
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who → base → home
In fact, referees in the U.S. already face scrutiny for the slightest inconsistent evaluation of rules impacted by players’ stardom and the grounds on which the game is played.
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game → face → which
Americans loathe bad refereeing.
asserted
Americans → loathe → refereeing
They abhor unfair application of the rule.
asserted
They → abhor → rule
Americans love rules correctly and consistently applied in sports.
asserted
Americans → love → sports
Americans love football and its voluminous rule book.
asserted
Americans → love → football
After all, football is about structure, about playing within and along the confines of rules to draw [legal] advantages.
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football → play → advantages
In so many ways, the U.S.’s love affair with the American sport creates a person imbued with the regulatory spirit that tickles the fancy of every utopist.
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that → create → utopist
Today’s MAGA conservatives, styled in the post-2024 political arena, have declared their hatred of this aspect of sports.
asserted
conservatives → style → sports
Football instills a deep, cultural respect for neutral rules and due process — and this is something modern Trumpism actively tries to dismantle.
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Trumpism → instill → rules
They have declared a desire for the rulebook to be overhauled in favor of the offense that is currently on the field.
asserted
that → declare → field
Deep down, this branch of conservatives despises this aspect of football for the rigidity it imposes on the game when their roster could really benefit from a complimentary, to them, set of rules.
uncertain
roster → despise → rules
The roster composition goes unquestioned.
asserted
composition → go → ?
The path toward a reunified America starts with a recommitment to the love of football.
asserted
path → start → football
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
