America's Olympic champions come from many backgrounds
As the grandson of a legal immigrant from Mexico, I'd say merit is something along the lines of a monster work ethic, passion, optimism, determination, perseverance, fresh thinking, and the unquenchable desire to be the best at whatever you do.
Luckily for America, this kind of merit is transferable to the next generation. It's time for Americans to quit our whining -- and count our blessings.
The private sector gets it. A poignant 60-second commercial about the heritage of Olympic athletes deserves its own gold medal. The spot -- for the online genealogy site ancestry.com -- recalls the 1980 upset victory of the U.S. hockey team over the Russians in Lake Placid, New York. As it points out, the American players came from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds.
At a time when Americans have been infected by their leaders with the absurd idea that immigrants are ruining this land of immigrants, the commercial -- titled "America's Greatness Comes from Everywhere" -- is a dose of penicillin.
Are we blind? The U.S. team at the Winter Olympics looks like a miniature United Nations. It's the genius of America that it takes in throwaways and runaways from what Trump calls "shithole countries" and -- in a generation or two -- turns their offspring into the pride of the world.
You can see them honored in the days to come during the medal ceremonies in PyeongChang. You can't miss them. They'll be all decked out in red, white and blue.
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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers Group
