America’s Song, Part 1
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2021
⏱️ ? minutes
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Summary
With his performance of “God Bless America” during Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, NYPD officer Daniel Rodriguez comforted a nation still grieving in the wake of 9/11. It felt like a timeless moment. Instead, it proved fleeting. Twenty years later, the reasons for that tell a story of the political divisions and embellished patriotism that now polarize American sports. The weight of it all can be felt through the struggles of Rodriguez, who’s still trying to bless people with his voice as America attempts to rediscover its own.
Join Washington Post sports columnist Jerry Brewer, sports features writer Kent Babb and audio producer Bishop Sand as they explore how a man and a nation have attempted to heal and find meaning after trauma and tragedy.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Martine. |
| 0:04.3 | In the wake of the anniversary of 9-11, this question has come up about whether the US |
| 0:09.7 | will ever get back to what felt like a brief moment of national unity just after the |
| 0:15.2 | attacks. |
| 0:16.2 | Of course, that unity didn't last, and it didn't include everyone. |
| 0:20.1 | It brought new problems along with it that are still with us today. |
| 0:24.3 | But for a moment, it seemed like political divisions were set aside. |
| 0:28.2 | It's something that a few of my colleagues have been thinking about a lot on this 20th anniversary |
| 0:32.8 | of 9-11, and for a surprising reason. |
| 0:36.4 | It goes back to a man who was on center stage at a major league baseball game just a few |
| 0:41.8 | weeks after the attacks. |
| 0:43.7 | So they set out to find him. |
| 0:46.6 | You're about to hear the first part of a special two-part series, and just a heads up, there |
| 0:50.8 | are some detailed discussions of the September 11th attacks and some other difficult material. |
| 0:56.3 | So please take care. |
| 0:58.1 | Part one begins after another more recent moment of turmoil for the country. |
| 1:03.1 | Okay, here it is. |
| 1:05.6 | It was early June 2020. |
| 1:27.6 | A little more than a week after George Floyd was killed. |
| 1:31.5 | I couldn't stop watching the coverage of the protest. |
| 1:34.9 | I'd been up 21 hours straight. |
| 1:38.1 | No plans to call it a night. |
... |
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