Last Saturday night, I decided not to watch the Women’s Downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I wanted to, but I knew that Lindsey Vonn would be on. I predicted what would happen, and I was right.
I both admire Lindsey Vonn’s courage to attempt a super-fast recovery from a torn ACL to compete in the Olympics and am disappointed in her for making a monumentally wrong decision. She should have known that attempting to ski in the Olympics 10 days after suffering a major injury was wrong. Very wrong.
In Italy, it was just after noon Sunday. Vonn thought she was ready to go. She wasn’t.
By competing, Vonn not only ended up in the hospital again, rescued from the course by helicopter, but took the place of another skier who may not have won a medal, but would have had the opportunity to try. It was egotistical for both Vonn to believe that she could win a gold medal this year (her stated goal) and to believe that she deserved a spot on the team, given her injury.
I wish Lindsey a quick and complete recovery. I will continue to be an enthusiastic fan.
I also hope that other athletes—and many people involved in other activities, especially politics—will learn from her mistake. The lesson: Realistically assess your abilities before taking on a project.
For the past year, and from 2017-2021, I have watched a President of the United States claim, “I alone can fix it.” History has shown that to be false. America would be better off without a President who makes decisions based on his gut or the latest rant on Fox News. The President breaks things that would not have been broken with any other Democrat or Republican serving as President.
Can you imagine any other President posting a meme of the Obamas depicted as apes? Or anyone else who would choose Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, or Pam Bondi to serve in their cabinet. Or have the audacity to sue the IRS and Department of Treasury for $10 billion?
Unfortunately, a huge ego sometimes is necessary to achieve greatness. The sports world and Washington, D.C. are both full of huge egos which have resulted in dozens of “greats.” A huge ego, by itself, is not a recipe for failure and could be a prerequisite. But a huge ego coupled with delusional narcissism can produce failure, sometimes laughable failure.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I see images of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that looks like a ham-fisted attempt to turn the White House into a Presidential Palace that would make any dictator envious. And when I heard that Trump wants to put his own image on a commemorative coin celebrating the Nation’s 250th anniversary, I was torn between reaching for a vomit bag (I stole a couple years ago on a Delta flight) and grabbing my iPhone, on which I wanted to snap an image for use with an article on how a clown got into the White House.
Lindsey Vonn’s mistake is one she likely now regrets.
Trump, best I can tell, regrets nothing. His many mistakes are ones that we pay for. He has alienated most of America’s allies in favor of rehabilitating Vladimir Putin, enriched himself through apparent corruption, and threatens democracy on a near-daily basis (one example: “a mission to Federalize” the administration of elections in Democratic States).
Lindsey Vonn is a good person. It is hard to imagine her doing anything racist or stupid, except, perhaps her decision to compete in the Olympics after her injury. Despite her mistake this year, she will be a role model for many people for years to come. Contrast that with Donald J. Trump. How many years will it take to reverse the damage he is doing to the United States of America?
Will we be “the world’s greatest democracy” by the time Trump leaves office?
Unfortunately, Vonn’s crash on Sunday (Italian time) will be a lasting memory of the 2026 Winter Games. Trump’s second term, tragically, will be remembered as the beginning of the end of American greatness unless voters turn out to vote and use their vote to put an end to the madness, racism, and poor judgment of the nearly 80-year-old man who is President.
God save the United States of America.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.
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