The stories that show the kind of country we're becoming

PUBLISHED: August 23, 2026 | www.baltimoresun.com

Some weeks produce news. Others reveal something about the country.

This was one of those weeks.

America’s national debt has crossed $40 trillion. The number is so enormous that Washington almost treats it as meaningless. Yet interest on that debt increasingly competes with everything government is supposed to do: defend the nation, build infrastructure, support research and protect future generations.

Republicans cannot blame Democrats. Democrats cannot blame Republicans. The debt has more than doubled since 2017, spanning the Trump and Biden presidencies. Both parties own this crisis.

And perhaps that helps explain another phenomenon sweeping American politics: the revolt against the professional political class.

Look at South Carolina.

Darline Graham has been criticized for lacking the polished command of issues expected from a conventional Senate candidate. But perhaps the political establishment is missing something.

Americans have elected plenty of politicians who knew every talking point and possessed impeccable résumés. Washington still gave us $40 trillion in debt, political paralysis and collapsing confidence in institutions.

Maybe voters aren’t rejecting knowledge. They are rejecting a system that seems increasingly disconnected from them.

Our constitutional government was never envisioned exclusively for career politicians. Farmers, merchants, professionals and ordinary citizens were expected to serve and eventually return home.

South Carolina may soon tell us whether voters are willing to embrace that idea again.

Maryland is confronting another transformation: data centers.

Artificial intelligence feels almost magical when a response appears instantly on a screen. But AI requires enormous physical infrastructure: buildings, electricity, water and transmission capacity.

That means investment and jobs. It also means legitimate questions about electricity rates, environmental consequences and who pays for the infrastructure.

Maryland should neither blindly welcome every proposal nor reflexively ban data centers.

Regulate intelligently. Protect communities. Demand transparency.

But recognize reality: AI infrastructure is becoming as consequential to this century as highways, electricity and telecommunications were to the last.

If Maryland simply says no, another state will say yes.

Then another story happened in Washington that reminded me why sports matter far beyond the scoreboard.

More than 300,000 people came to Washington for the IndyCar race weekend.

The tickets were free. When they became available online in early June, they were gone within days.

Think about that.

At a moment when Americans are constantly told how divided we are, hundreds of thousands of people wanted to come together in the nation’s capital for the simple pleasure of experiencing something extraordinary.

And what a blast it was.

Looking around on Saturday, I saw Americans from every walk of life. Different races. Different ages. Different incomes. Different neighborhoods. Different politics.

For a few hours, none of that seemed particularly important.

People cheered together. Families celebrated together. Strangers talked to one another. Washington wasn’t merely the capital of political combat. It became America’s gathering place.

That is one of the extraordinary powers of sports.

Sports create common ground without demanding that we agree first.

Nobody asks the person sitting beside them how they voted before celebrating a spectacular pass, a home run, a photo finish or an IndyCar roaring through the streets.

For that moment, we belong to the same team.

America needs more moments like that.

Politics has become extraordinarily effective at reminding us what separates us. Sports can remind us how much we still share.

That same spirit applies to patriotism.

Standing for the national anthem does not mean believing America is perfect. Respecting our flag does not erase slavery, segregation or injustice.

Patriotism means believing this imperfect experiment remains worth improving.

You can criticize America precisely because America protects your right to criticize it.

But freedom without gratitude eventually becomes entitlement.

Visit a military cemetery. Read the names. Look at the ages.

Then tell me standing respectfully for two minutes during the national anthem asks too much.

Beyond our borders, America faces another test as President Donald Trump intensifies economic pressure against Iran.

Economic power can sometimes accomplish what military force cannot. But Americans should never become casual about escalation.

Sanctions have consequences. Wars have consequences. Miscalculations have consequences.

Strength is indispensable in a dangerous world.

So is wisdom.

Finally, I have been thinking about “The Odyssey” and why traveling alone has become increasingly meaningful to me.

There is a difference between loneliness and solitude.

Loneliness is feeling something is missing.

Solitude can be discovering that nothing is.

We live surrounded by notifications, television, politics, meetings, texts and people constantly demanding some portion of our attention.

Sometimes you have to become quiet enough to hear yourself again.

Perhaps nations occasionally need the same thing.

America is moving unbelievably fast. Artificial intelligence is transforming our economy. Political institutions are being challenged. Debt is accumulating. Technology connects us while human beings somehow feel increasingly disconnected.

Yet standing among hundreds of thousands of Americans in Washington this weekend, watching people from every imaginable background simply enjoying themselves together, I was reminded of something important.

America is not nearly as divided as our politics sometimes makes us believe.

Underneath the arguments, most Americans still want many of the same things: opportunity, security, family, community, dignity and occasionally the chance to forget everything else and cheer together.

That may be the most important view from the Owner’s Box this week.

Greatness is not merely measured by our wealth, military power or technology.

Sometimes it is found in our continuing ability, despite everything, to come together as Americans.

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.

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