| The most inspiring moments in the Olympics were perhaps not in the first-place finishes, but in Simone Biles's withdrawal from the gymnastics all-around team competition and Naomi Osaka's early tennis elimination. Columnist Alyssa Rosenberg writes that their true power as athletes came not in medal counts, but the social change they represent. And we as fans should embrace this new definition of excellence and courage. "Biles has been a role model for Black girls in a predominantly White sport," Rosenberg writes. "Her excellence has also served as a rebuke to USA Gymnastics, which failed to protect her and her teammates from the predations of Larry Nassar." However, mental health may never fit comfortably into our conventional narratives about the obstacles athletes overcome on the road to greatness. Fans' requests for transcendence could result in broken necks in sports like gymnastics, or it simply may not pan out, as it did with Osaka's third-round elimination. "Cheering for athletes to triumph over mental barriers means asking even more of competitors than their sports normally demand of them: that they defy not merely gravity, but the weight of their own humanity," Rosenberg writes.  (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) Mental health doesn't fit neatly into cliche stories of athletes overcoming obstacles on the road to success. And we shouldn't have asked Biles to carry so much alone. By Alyssa Rosenberg ● Read more » | | | | Some GOP lawmakers take the opportunity to demand justice — but not for those you might think. By Dana Milbank ● Read more » | | | For those on the right who have continued their whitewash of what happened at the Capitol, Tuesday was not a good day. By Karen Tumulty ● Read more » | | | | And other ridiculous lies we've been asked to believe about Jan. 6. By Alexandra Petri ● Read more » | | | | The common denominators? Donald Trump, and a familiar delusion. By Kathleen Parker ● Read more » | | | | The vaccines have turned covid-19 from a mortal threat into something little more dangerous than the common cold. By Marc A. Thiessen ● Read more » | | | | I never thought that using an alternative medical treatment would put the biggest opportunity of my career in jeopardy, but that's exactly what happened. By Lindsay Church ● Read more » | | | | Except for insults and force, the government seems out of ideas for countering Black Cubans and the hip-hop artists who voice their feelings. By Charles Lane ● Read more » | | | If successful — emphasis on 'if' — the technology could signal the beginning of the end for fossil fuels. By David Von Drehle ● Read more » | | | | Leave the filibuster rules in place. But carve out an exception for "major bills" — after amendments are fully debated. By Jeff Blattner ● Read more » | | | |
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