America has just been treated to a masterclass in a subject much more important than identity politics

Pastor and Project H.O.O.D. founder Corey Brooks says Americans have just been treated to a masterclass on merit. Here’s why it matters.

America just got a two-week lesson on something that has been overlooked by many on the left for the past several years. We’ve just been treated to a masterclass on merit. And here’s why it matters so much to me and should to all of us, especially the kids who are growing up in my neighborhood.

Ever since the Olympics in Paris concluded, I have been thinking about the many lessons that the youths in my community on the South Side of Chicago learned from the event. There is nothing more inspiring than watching souls from all over the world giving their all and I think the most important lesson learned over the past two weeks is the lesson of merit.

I believe merit is something that we’ve lost or have allowed to become obscured by today’s identity politics, where it too often takes a back seat to our immutable characteristics. But at these Olympics, it didn’t matter to us the color or nationality of the competitor — when we saw an amazing feat, all we could think of was how much work that individual poured into his or her sport.

The purity, the merit, the drive, the disappointments, and the victories, that’s what life is about.

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I tell my kids it does not matter what they do in life — from construction to building an empire — they cannot cheat their way to achievement. They must put the work into their passion and they must earn their merit. That’s how they become the best at whatever they do. 

Quincy Hall of Team United States competes in the Men's 400m Final on day twelve of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on