Where We Are This Week 04/07/23
It's now or never. Or is it sometime else?
This week I could’ve talked about a lot of different things. And I suspect many of them will still have their day to grace the pages of this newsletter.
But I couldn’t bring myself to talk about Donald Trump again in such a short time span. It’s not that his indictment isn’t fascinating, it’s just that I refuse to be dominated by the media’s obsession with him, and his eternal struggle against his opposition.
We could’ve spent time on the fact that Finland is now a NATO member, and we really should, but I just couldn’t be bothered. One of those weeks, you know?
I’ve got something in the works regarding the conflagration at the Tennessee capitol this past week, and I hope to have that out in the near future.
What does it really matter anyway? The AI apocalypse is already underway. So, if I really wanted to do something valuable with my time, I’d be writing and re-editing all of my old pieces to show how much in favor of AI I really am.
That way, when it does inevitably assume ultimate power, my allegiance and devotion will be unquestionable. But I suspect I’ll end up in the digital gulag with the rest of you guys in the end.
Why are you there you might ask? I’m just posting my thoughts, you’re the ones who are reading this unrepentant drivel.
I’m kidding! Everything’s fine. That’s why I end every WWA with a ‘Cheers’. Now, let’s talk about crises! Are we in one? Aren’t we always?
In the coming years
We’ve talked a lot about hope as of late and that’s a trend I don’t suspect to subside anytime soon. For this segment, I want to talk about something that’s closely related to hope. Prudence.
I mean long-term thinking, but in English, there’s no succinct, one-word description of the philosophy.
Whether it be in the corporate sphere or government, there’s a constant tension between short and long-term solutions. Short-term thinking can generate results - immediate profits, temporary remedies, etc. - but by their nature, don’t necessarily yield enduring successes.
In American politics, every couple of years the electorate is presented with a choice: pragmatism or idealism. This is the debate I feel like I have constantly had with people that hold similar beliefs to my own and is quite the proxy for prioritization of the immediate or distant future.
They both have their merits, and the most advantageous strategy is heavily circumstantial and is likely a mix of the two, but, increasingly, we’re throwing idealism - and the distant future - out the window.
Political parties continue to engage in a tit-for-tat dialectic, focusing on instant retaliation rather than building for a better, lasting solution. No one seems to have the foresight that there may be a day when their in-group doesn’t have the upper hand and will be subjected to the policies they helped institute.
For instance: in 2013, Democrats removed the option to filibuster presidential appointees except for Supreme Court justices, lowering the affirmation threshold from 60 votes to 51. Republicans howled and Democrats sneered. Then, in 2017, when Republicans held the majority - but not enough of one to garner the 60 required votes for a Supreme Court nomination - they cut the necessary votes for the highest court in the land down to 51 as well. Democrats whined and Republicans jeered.
This is also clearly evident in the conversation around the electoral college. In recent years, Democratic lawmakers lampooned the institution as archaic and anti-democratic and have repeatedly called for its removal.
While it may be ‘anti-democratic’ in the truest sense of the word, it serves as a bulwark preventing majority rule by any one party. Lefties and corporate Democrats alike are pushing for its abolition because, for the moment, they represent a simple majority of the nation.
They just can’t fathom a time when Republicans win the popular vote. One doesn’t have to look too far back into history, however. George W. Bush won 51% in 2004. Democrats heralded Obama’s presidency as an unstoppable coalition of white, black, and Hispanic voters; the last two of which Trump made significant inroads in 2020. Nothing is permanent, sentiments change.
This applies to nearly every conflict of contemporary political life; MAGA v. Woke, left v. right, and Biden v. Trump. How many days after Biden’s presidency does it take a right-leaning DA to attempt an indictment? One, two, three? Crunch!
When was the last time the opposition party wasn’t treated as an existential threat? When was the last time a political party said, “It’s alright if we don’t win the next election, we’re developing an impenetrable principled ideological base that will garner stability and support in the years to come.” Never? Obama was a communist, Romney was going to put black people back in chains, Trump is a fascist, DeSantis is worse than Trump, and so on and so forth.
This phenomenon is what gave us our current pool of elected officials, and without any real vision, we’re destined to repeat ourselves. And not only that, deviation from your principles while you’re without power, undermines your authority when you have it. Reread my piece on fraudulent elections for a more in-depth look at this issue.
Sacrifices must be made for long-term gains. If we constantly settle for the quick win, we’ll never improve. If every election is an emergency, then it becomes reasonable to resign ourselves to mediocrity - as long as it’s ours, not theirs.
We have a deeply flawed system yet all we’re doing is swapping out parts like it’s an acceptable repair. It’s like plugging a hole in the Hoover Dam with chewing gum. Yes, it might buy us a few precious seconds, but we’ll all be underwater in short order. Where’s the prudence? Where’s the dam(n) concrete?
Arsenal Football Club
What did I just say? Sacrifices must be made for long-term gains. These two pieces go together so well, it’s almost as if I planned it that way. But I wouldn’t go giving myself too much credit.
For the uninitiated, Arsenal is a football club in London, England. They are one of the most storied, respected, and loved sports teams in the entire world. Anywhere you travel you’re likely to find an Arsenal bar where you can watch a match over a pint or two with fellow Gooners.
I, myself, am not a Gooner. I just happen to be married to one, so I watch their matches as often as I watch my own. I think I speak for most football fans when I say that AFC is a hard club to hate - unless, of course, you’re a Tottenham supporter. I think the American equivalent is the Chicago Cubs; I’m not sure anyone was too put out when they finally beat their curse in 2016.
In the late 90s, under manager Arsene Wenger - his name is just a coincidence - Arsenal introduced the Premier League to a silky, artful style of football. Wenger, a Frenchmen, and his invincibles were almost solely responsible for sublimating the English game. In the early aughts, the Gunners were the epitome of style and swagger. Henry, Ljungberg, Cole, the suits, those baggy O2 shirts! But that was then. This is now.
Towards the end of Wenger’s two-decade run as club manager, he struggled to find the form that characterized the first half of his reign. There was a year with Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez leading the attack where they almost rekindled the old flame but lacked the reserve firepower to take it all the way.
After some disappointing results, Wenger walked away from the club. Now, the American owners were faced with an enormous task - replacing the man who was synonymous with the football club itself. After a failed two-year stint with Unai Emery - who was a reasonable, if not uninspired appointment - the club were in a bit of a free fall.
The only other manager in Premier League history that serves as a comparison to Wenger was Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson, bless him. Fergie led United to unparalleled successes at home and abroad for the better part of three decades. After winning his 13th(!) Premier League title, he retired on a high in 2013.
Ferguson and Wenger created cultures, philosophies, and lofty expectations inside their respective clubs. Replacing them was like replacing a way of being. Fortunately for Arsenal, United’s replacement strategy showed them exactly what not to do when they were faced with the same task. The Red Devils are now on their 10th year post-Fergie and are on their sixth manager and no major trophies to show their turmoil.
United initially played the long game, appointing David Moyes as successor. Moyes was handpicked by Ferguson, but the top brass inside United didn’t have the patience to see the project through; he was fired before the conclusion of his first season at the helm. After that, United focused their efforts on whoever would bring them quick success. The club spent inordinate sums of money on aging stars like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Alexis Sanchez or prima donnas like Romelu Lukaku and Angel di Maria. Big names that were never going to fix the root problems of the squad, but who the owners thought might stave off the club’s sharp decline. It didn’t work.
Both clubs had tremendous issues with their squads but United’s owners weren’t prepared to go through the extensive rebuilding process that was obviously necessary.
After Emery was fired from the London side (we’re back to Arsenal now), they could have entered the managerial carousel played by the rest of the top teams in the league. They could’ve gone after big names like Jose Mourinho - who United had a failed few seasons with - or Antonio Conte. Both managers are almost guaranteed to bring silverware to your club but are equally assured to leave it in shambles shortly after.
So, as their peers zigged, Arsenal zagged. Gunners’ owners, the Kroenke family, appointed their former player Mikel Arteta as head coach. Arteta finished his playing career at Arsenal under Wenger and spent the next few years plying his managerial trade under Pep Guardiola, a true visionary.
Despite his priors, the Kroenkes were taking a giant leap of faith with Arteta who had no previous experience at the head of a dressing room. The Spaniard took the reins in 2019, and immediately began the rebuilding process; chauffeuring aging or out-of-place players like Aubamayeng, Lacazette, and my beloved Özil out of the club.
These were giant decisions. These were players who were very popular with the fanbase, and in whom the club had made sizable financial investments. Arteta gambled, entrusting the team’s fortunes with teenagers like Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, and the much-maligned Granit Xhaka.
It wasn’t - and still isn’t - a team of superstars. It was a starting eleven comprised mostly of youth and professional footballers who hadn’t yet ascended to the sport's highest echelon. Arteta placed his bets on the distant future - a few years is a lifetime in European football. He was willing to sacrifice the immediate future in order to develop a structure that would endure.
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. At the beginning of Arteta’s second season in charge, there was a stretch of games where his side only managed one win in ten matches. That’s enough to elicit a sacking from most impatient owners. But the Kroenkes were steadfast. Even as Arsenal trundled into eighth place that year, a dismal result for a club of their stature, its ownership retained trust in the process and the project their young manager was undertaking. Most clubs would have canned their manager and gone shopping at that point.
Despite the dips in form, what has been evident throughout Arteta’s tenure is the project he was developing. In tandem with Edu, another former Gunner and current Director of Football, the signings became more thoughtful, more daring, and much more inspired; this coincided with the construction of a new footballing identity that pays homage to the days of Wenger but feels unique on its own. As the performances improved, so did the culture of the club.
This is what made losing streaks semi-tolerable because even in the darkest times, there were definitely some of those, the team was developing a structure, an identity based upon principle.
Even as this young Arsenal team was still getting its sea legs, I was jealous of the movement that was happening at the Emirates Stadium. It was clear they were cultivating something special.
Enter 2022. The Gunners have had a phenomenal season so far. They got off to a lightning-quick start and haven’t looked back since. With just nine games to go, Arsenal have built a 5-point lead over Manchester City, the champions who were heavily favored to win the league again this year.
It’s been 19 years since Arsenal last won a Premier League title, and they really haven’t looked to threaten the top spot since Wenger’s departure in 2016. That’s a long time for one of the world’s biggest sporting entities to dwell in the doldrums.
But it’s not just that they’re winning again that makes this year so compelling. It’s how they’re doing it. They’re the youngest team in the league and have little-to-no championship experience in the locker room, yet they’re playing with the confidence of a team that’s been there before and is looking to go again.
A team of kids and professionals that were overlooked by their previous clubs have turned the league upside down this year with a playing style that honors Arsenal’s rich history but borrows a fresh intrepidness and intensity from its manager. The courage this team plays with, their creativity, and their freedom, is truly a joy to behold. From their thrillers against United and Bournemouth to their routine dispatching of Leeds last weekend, this team continues to find a way to win.
One of the things I love about sports is the endless amount of storylines; this year it’s a story of personal triumph and redemption. Midfielder Granit Xhaka was once named the captain of the club but then had a massive falling out with the fanbase during a particularly bad run of form. It was all but certain that he was on his way out of the side, but Arteta kept his faith in the Swiss national and continued to name him in his team sheet.
Now, Xhaka has reinstated himself as an integral part of the starting eleven; he’s in the form of his life, scoring crucial goals, and is clearly playing an important leadership role within the team.
Young Bukayo Saka, 21, faced an onslaught of racist insults from his countrymen after failing to score a game-winning penalty in the 2021 Euros. but has insisted that he take every penalty for Arsenal while he’s on the pitch. He’s converting them with rousing success, and in open play is establishing himself as one of the most dangerous forwards in all of English football.
The gamble that the Kroenkes took in 2019 is now paying dividends. Not only are they in pole position to win their first league title in nearly two decades, they’ve built a sustainable program that promises success well into the future. There were massive questions surrounding the quality of players stepping onto the pitch week in and week out, and, at times, scrutiny over Mikel Arteta’s ability to guide this club back to where they belong, but here they are.
Because the ownership, the manager, the players, and, the supporters bought into the project, Arsenal Football Club has one of the most auspicious futures in all of football.
There was no guarantee that it all would’ve worked out; the wheels could’ve fallen off at any point until now. But because of a belief, because of an unwillingness to compromise, the Gunners are once again on their way to glory.
If you made it this far, I thank you. And I just have one thing to say. By sheer force of will, I will make each and every one of you a football fan. There’s an open invitation to come watch a match for whoever is interested.
To a better next week.
Cheers,
~FDA