Op-ed: The American outrage machine needed content, so the Olympics became tribute

There is something increasingly predictable about how the modern press covers almost anything tied to national pride.

• An athlete wins gold.

• A team brings home a championship.

• The flag is raised.

• The anthem plays.

And within minutes, the story is no longer about the athlete.

It is about Donald Trump.

The press frequently complains that Trump makes everything about himself. I don't disagree. Yet time and again, it is the press that drags him squarely into the frame, even - as we've seen in recent days - when the frame was originally filled with skates, sticks, ice, and medals.

The image circulating this week makes the contrast hard to ignore.

On one side, glowing coverage of the global brand and cultural complexity of Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who competes for China. On the other, sober warnings that the U.S. men's hockey team may have won gold, but they "lost the room" because they took a congratulatory phone call.

The juxtaposition tells a story.

The issue is not that Eileen Gu should not be covered, nor is it that journalists must applaud every patriotic display. It's the asymmetry. One athlete's political intrigue is treated as sophistication. Others' political proximity is treated as contamination.

The press insists it is merely reporting the climate.

But who creates the climate?

Consider the women's hockey team. Instead of being allowed to shine on their own merit, they were pulled into commentary about the men's team's association with Trump. Their victory became a prop in a broader ideological skirmish the press, rather than celebrating excellence, decided to instigate.

And why did they instigate? Skirmish = attention = money.

We are told we live in uniquely divisive times. That may be partially true. But American history has never lacked division. What is different is the velocity and amplification. Social media churns outrage, cable news packages it, and digital outlets monetize it.

It is not conspiracy. It is economics: Revenue drives coverage.

• The modern press often laments polarization while simultaneously feeding it.

• They complain that Trump dominates every news cycle while reinserting him into stories where he need not be central.

• They warn athletes about being "repurposed into political capital" while actively repurposing them.

A free press is essential to a healthy republic. But a press that cannot resist framing every cultural moment through partisan lenses eventually becomes less a referee and more a participant. When journalists behave like protagonists, they should not be surprised when trust erodes.

This is why their credibility is utterly non-existent in the minds of Americans.

And that is the big problem.

Scripture speaks often about the power of the tongue - about how words can inflame or heal, distort or clarify. Which means, as melodramatic as this may seem, the temptation to turn every story into a referendum on one divisive man is not merely political. It is spiritual. It is the temptation to center everything on the conflict that drives the most attention.

The truth that is begging to be acknowledged is this:

• Not every moment needs to be weaponized.

• Sometimes a gold medal can simply be a gold medal.

• Sometimes a team celebrating together need not be parsed for ideological alignment.

• Sometimes the healthiest act in a divided culture is restraint.

The press often warns us about toxic masculinity, political contamination, and national decay. But it would do well to ask whether constant moral framing of every cultural moment contributes to the very toxicity it laments.

A culture that dines constantly on outrage does not do so accidentally. It is fed.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.