Letters: The Stanley Cup Final is the greatest of all sports championships

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

When the month of June comes along each year, I welcome it with open arms. Not for the nice weather or summer activities, but for the greatest of all sports championships, the Stanley Cup Final. The NHL is stacked with some of the best and most underpaid athletes in the world. They are also, for the most part, a humble collection of young men when they are not competing on the ice (just listen to their interviews between periods; it's never about themselves but about the team).
As I took a seat in my living room for Game 1 between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, I was once again reminded why I love this series so much. As protocol requires, when a U.S. hockey team plays a team from Canada, the national anthems of both countries are sung. Game 1 was no different, as the Oilers selected a fan (with obvious singing experience and a beautiful tenor voice) to sing both anthems from his seat, surrounded by fans in his section. He performed the Star Spangled Banner flawlessly, but the real head-turner was when he sang 'O Canada.' I think he sang the first three lines of O Canada when he realized that the entire arena was singing with him. At that point, he stopped singing and let the Edmonton crowd, both young and old, perform in his place. He simply held up the mic for those tuned-in to listen. Talk about goosebumps, smiles and tears all at the same time. This was an example of the pride Canadians have for their country and for the Oilers. I was absolutely amazed!
At that moment, I thought to myself, 'would that ever happen in this country?' Would our fellow countrymen and women show that kind of pride in the United States of America? Moreover, can I be sure that almost every fan in a U.S. arena would know the Star Spangled Banner without a cheat sheet? I'm not even sure if our current president or many in his administration could sing our national anthem without notes. I only say this because of the amount of unconstitutional executive orders President Donald Trump has signed; he obviously didn't ace his seventh grade Constitution test.
Right about now, some of you are crumpling up the paper this op-ed is written on. But ask yourselves, 'Are you truly satisfied with the way the United States is viewed around the world and by our own citizens?' If you are, you will probably never understand the meaning of 'do unto others as you would have done to you.' For me, I'll bask in the pride of the Edmonton fans and hope that same pride and humility returns to this country. Go Oilers.Your June 5 editorial, 'A new chance for school choice in Illinois,' (June 5) makes it sound like tax-credit scholarships are the answer to almost every education challenge. On the surface, it sounds reasonable — who wouldn't want every child to attend the best possible school? But this argument doesn't hold up when you look at the facts.
A 2024 report commissioned by the Illinois State Board of Education found that public school students actually outperformed recipients of the Invest in Kids tax-credit scholarships on state standardized tests. In 2023, 35% of public school students were proficient in reading, compared to just 22% of scholarship recipients. In math, 27% of public school students were proficient, compared to 16% of scholarship recipients. This data suggests that, in many cases, we're using tax dollars to help send kids to private schools that aren't even performing as well as the public schools they're leaving.
I appreciated the Tribune's recent editorial, 'When school boards ride in limousines and students lack the basics,' (June 2) highlighting wasteful spending by some Illinois school boards. Waste should absolutely be addressed. But where's the same scrutiny of private schools receiving tax dollars through scholarships? They often operate with far less accountability than public schools, even though they benefit from public funds.
I understand that many families are desperate to find better options for their kids, especially when public schools are underfunded. But let's be honest: the struggles of public schools are often the result of years of disinvestment and constant efforts to undermine them in favor of privatized alternatives. The Tribune's own coverage seems to keep reinforcing the narrative that public schools are the problem and private schools are the solution. But when we look at the data, that's just not the whole story.
Instead of shifting money to private schools that can pick and choose which students they serve, let's focus on strengthening every public school so that every child — no matter where they live — has access to a high-quality education.Recently you published a piece about Walden Pond, (On this Day, June 6) which took me back in time. In the late '50s and specifically in 1960, I spent many delightful hours swimming with my family and cousins at Walden Pond. My family paid a small fee to have parking and access to the beach which provided a bathhouse, a lifeguard, and lots of sand (trucked in, I'm sure). There were no public pools available to families like mine, and the local lakes were all we had. We loved it. I was around 12 years old when I began to reflect on the natural beauty of the place, and wondered where Henry David Thoreau's cabin was. It wasn't lost on me that Walden was an inspirational place. I don't think Walden lost anything by providing that swimming area to the public.Conservatives couldn't be clearer: They want 'legal' immigrants, not 'illegal' immigrants. This could not be more contradicted by reality if they tried: immigrants with legal residence status are being detained and deported at their immigration hearings, meetings and even citizenship tests. For all we hear about the need for immigrants to 'follow the process,' it is now evident that people like Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want no immigrants of any kind.
If the government can detain and deport people with legal status in this country, all of us are at risk. If undocumented people have no right to due process, then the right of any of us to due process is under threat. If the government can send people to Salvadoran prisons, none of us is safe. There is no better way for us to forfeit our rights than by refusing to extend those rights to others. If the government is allowed to take away the rights of one group, it is the epitome of naïveté to think that it can't or won't take away the rights of other groups. Fighting for the rights of immigrants is fighting for your own rights.