Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545479
AFTER years of nothing much to celebrate since Donald Trump took over, the US is rekindling its joy as a result of two momen- tous sporting events. First, the New York Knicks won the NBA for the first time in 53 years and, understandably, the city went wild with excite- ment. Grown men broke down in tears, and everyone, from adults to little kids, was jumping up and down in pure, unadulter- ated happiness. The vibe was infectious and even for someone like me who does not know much about bas- ketball, watching those reels brings a smile to my face each time. There is something about watching passionate sports fans celebrate a win, which is hard to beat. On Thursday, New Yorkers all turned out for the massive celebration parade with Alicia Keys belting out her iconic an- them Empire State of Mind and everyone singing along to the fa- mous lyrics, including the May- or of New York himself. The best thing to watch were the Knicks' smallest fans, the kids, who are so lucky to have experienced this in their lifetime. Children need heroes and it is indescribably touching to see them being so ecstatically happy and cheering for their favourite players. The second event is, of course, the FIFA World Cup. As foot- ball fans from all over the world descended en masse onto the United States, sporting their team colours and inimitable football chants, Americans have embraced them wholehearted- ly and the feeling seems to be mutual. The Scots have basical- ly taken over Boston with their "Super John McGinn" and "No Scotland, no party" chants and the song which they have made their own "Freed from Desire". Meanwhile, the Dutch, dressed in a sea of orange have their own pre-game traditions and chants as they move in unison from left to right. Obviously, there are so many other nations with their football rituals but these two in particular seem to be all over my feed; it's simply impossible to watch these scenes without feeling happy. With so much depressing news all the time, for once the stories were uplifting and positive. We definitely need some more happiness in this world and it's a relief to see sports unifying dif- ferent cultures when so many other forces are determined to try and tear us apart. Of course, this comes with a caveat—na- tions competing against each other can break down divisive barriers but only as long as order is maintained. When hooligans spoil it all as they did in Paris when Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League and yet hundreds of supporters rioted anyway, that speaks of an under- lying unrest and a phenomenon which is inexplicable to me. This week we also witnessed people of different political ide- ologies coming together with mutual respect during the in- auguration of the Obama Pres- idential Centre. The image of four former presidents, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton standing alongside each other, so dig- nified and poised, represented something which has been sore- ly lacking in American politics for the last few years—decorum. The presidential office deserves gravitas and these men, together with their wives who were an es- sential driving force behind their careers, showed the American people, and the world, that it is possible to not agree on many is- sues and still behave with grace. We should not under-estimate the strong symbolism of seeing leaders who behave appropriate- ly and respectfully; the very fact that we even have to draw atten- tion to it signals just how much we have veered away from prop- er conduct. It is so easy to fall into a nonchalant way of doing things, where rules are there to be broken, ethics fly out the win- dow and laws are simply some- thing scribbled on a worthless piece of paper. This is an atti- tude which we unfortunately live with every day of our lives here in Malta. On the local front Meanwhile, peaking of proper conduct why do prominent fig- ures linked to the Labour Party insist on trying to discredit Alex Borg and Sarah Bajada? One would think that after a fourth electoral victory, they would be happy with the out- come and continue to live their lives. And yet, I keep reading posts which make me wonder if the aim is simply to topple the PN leader because they are afraid of him since he is the on- ly real threat to Labour. I doubt they would exert so much energy on someone who is not a serious rival. It is all so unnecessary and when you drag personal issues into the mix, it becomes an un- kind and cruel approach which the electorate on the whole has rejected. Let's not forget that this is a tactic which the PN has often tried to use in the past and which has always backfired mis- erably. Government ban vs parental responsibility This week the UK prime minis- ter announced that social media would be banned for those aged under 16. Inevitably this led to two questions: How will it be en- forced and is it really the govern- ment which should be dictating what children have access to? The first question is still being debated especially since Austral- ia imposed this ban six months ago and the jury is still out as to whether it is working or wheth- er those under 16 have simply found a loophole to get around it. The second question is more problematic. Ideally, of course, it is parents who should be tak- ing the reins by controlling and supervising their children's on- line access. After all, they are the adults and it is the role of a par- ent until the children reach 18, to keep them safe, teach them right from wrong, and guide them to make the right choic- es. I find myself writing this and wondering, do these duties and obligations really need to be stated? Shouldn't it be obvious that when you bring a tiny, de- fenceless baby into the world it is you, the parent, who has to be their guardian and guiding light as they grow up and make their way into the great unknown? Well, sometimes I guess what is obvious for one person is not so obvious for the other. We can see the fallout all around us of adolescents who have not had the fortune of being born into a family where people care enough about their wellbeing to enforce discipline and rules. It is because of these types of parents who abdicate their responsibility that sometimes the nanny state has to step in and do their job for them. The British government took this draconian step after con- siderable pressure from the majority of parents themselves. The social media platforms in- clude TikTok, Snapchat, Ins- tagram, YouTube, Facebook and X. YouTube Kids howev- er is exempt from the ban as is WhatsApp. It remains to be seen whether this ban will have the desired result and give parents more peace of mind about what their children are being exposed to. Perhaps it could also encourage this generation of parents to be 'braver' and realise that it never killed anyone to be told "no, you can't have that." 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JUNE 2026 OPINION Josanne Cassar She has worked in the field of communications and journalism for the last 30 years The world needs more joyous celebrations like this Scotland fans celebrating in Boston at Fenway Park As football fans from all over the world descended en masse onto the United States, sporting their team colours and inimitable football chants, Americans have embraced them wholeheartedly and the feeling seems to be mutual