There's A Name For The Discomfort You're Feeling Watching The Olympics Right Now
HuffPost
If waving the American flag or chanting “USA!” turns you off right now, you're not alone.
While President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda separates families, and federal agents detain 5-year-olds and kill unarmed civilians, American athletes are winning medals on behalf of the nation at the Olympics right now.
This whiplash between pride for United States competitors and national shame for the federal government is common. Even U.S. Olympians competing in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games in Italy feel ambivalent about representing the stars and stripes.
“There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of. Wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything going on in the U.S.,” said U.S. Olympics skier Hunter Hess, which prompted Trump to later label him as a “real loser” for his comments.
The cognitive dissonance of rooting for U.S. sports while hating the U.S. government is so common that “it continues to be one of the main topics I hold space for in therapy,” said Los Angeles-based licensed clinical social worker Aimee Monterrosa. “As we continue to witness national and global atrocities in real time...it can trigger feelings of guilt, despair, shame, anger.”
Although these feelings are common, you shouldn’t ignore them. “Cognitive dissonance isn’t just ‘having mixed feelings,’” said Tanisha Ranger, a Nevada-based clinical psychologist. “It’s a psychological state that happens when someone holds two conflicting beliefs or values at the same time, or they are engaging in behaviors that contradict their values.”
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