Dear Editor,
From June 11 through July 19, the world was treated to the FIFA World Cup - the premier international soccer tournament, first held in 1930.
Since then, 23 tournaments hosting senior men’s national teams have been held every four years, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.
The World Cup has become the most widely viewed sporting and cultural event in the world. It serves as a global stage on which humanity collectively represents itself. Early estimates suggest the 2026 tournament drew between 5 and 6 billion views across the entire 48-team competition.
The World Cup experience is about how a team made up of 11 players can inspire millions of their fellow citizens to feel pride in being represented on the world stage. In turn, this fosters a genuine, universal, grassroots human connection among fans. If you watched television coverage showing thousands of cheering supporters packed into public squares, gathered around giant screens to watch their country’s team compete, you may have recognized a sense of community and mutual respect that feels both deeply emotional and authentically human. The 2026 FIFA World Cup indeed brought authentic joy to millions of people around the world.
Concurrent with that global event, the citizens of the United States proudly celebrated this country’s semiquincentennial - the 250th anniversary of our independence. Nationwide festivities, parades, reenactments, fireworks, and official ceremonies commemorated 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. As such, we celebrated an ideal: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
On July 4, we extolled those truths as the common ground and aspirations of what we call the American Dream.
The confluence of these two historic events contributed to Americans exuding a level of pride and a joy de vivre that seemed almost unprecedented. Why can’t every day be one in which we reflect on and celebrate both these self-evident truths that have become our creed and the deep emotional connection that unites diverse cultures? In doing so, perhaps we can continue making the world a better place.
Peter Wibell, Rutledge