Four Hours of Obedience

The president has decided that America is to watch television together again. Not voluntarily, but properly. For four hours. At the same time. With no alternative. Army versus Navy, a mandatory appointment. Donald Trump wants to decree that in the future, on Army-Navy game day in December, nothing else may air. No other game, no competition, no programming. The screen belongs to the state, pardon, to tradition. Patriotism with a kickoff time. The justification is honor, courage, and sacrifice. And the fear that large television contracts and modern viewing habits could roll over these values. So the president steps in. Not on war, not on poverty, but on programming schedules.

What becomes visible here is a new interpretation of leadership. The state does not only protect borders, but also ratings. Freedom means being allowed to watch the right thing. And the right thing is defined. That a president tries to regulate sports broadcasts by decree raises questions. Above all, why decisive intervention should suddenly be possible here of all places. The answer may lie less in the game than in the network. Because by coincidence, a media corporation with close ties to the center of power benefits. That too is part of the tradition. One calls it coincidence until it accumulates.

In the end, the image remains of a country being instructed to sit still and watch. For four hours. Together. Disciplined. Those who switch off do not just miss a game, but apparently also the spirit of the nation. That is what the new form of cohesion looks like. Tune in. Endure. Do not change the channel.