Simone Biles Proved Her Greatness, Yes. But Something Else Is Pretty Great, Too.

We know how unselfish and mature the U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was by recognizing that first, she had freaked out enough so that her performance would never approach what she was used to; and second, to give her teammates the maximum chance to do as well as they could, she needed to step aside from this, her ultimate world stage, the thing she'd been preparing for--and what everybody believed she would kick total butt in--for five years, since the last time she did it. That alone is plenty to admire.

But there's more that we shouldn't ignore. Namely that Biles cleared the decks for Sunisa Lee to step up, take the spotlight, and win the women's all-around gymnastic competition, an incredible feat if there ever was one, one as great as the decathlon--perhaps greater, since far more dangerous performances are necessary.

Sunisa Lee is Asian. Uh-huh. A black woman got out of the way for an Asian woman to win. They're both Americans.

That, in this view, is totally excellent, and the best news of all. No white people were dominant in a sport formerly reserved for whites. This time, they weren't as good.

I can think of several million other Americans, narrow as they can be in their white supremacy, who are trying to find ways to diminish this. They can't.

We'll hear nothing about this from the person who leads them down the primrose path, either. Simone and Sunisa just shut him up.

I wonder how they'll handle it. Is the white race getting soft? Is this proof that America is continuing to go down the tubes?

Sunisa Lee won't be wearing any other uniform other than that of the U.S.A. when she ascends the podium. She won't be listening to any other anthem but our own.

This is how America is changing. This is how undeniably the numbers play out. Brisbane will get the Summer Games in 2032. By that time, just about half the country will be people of color.

That's just eleven years away. No ban on immigrants, no trashing of candidates for federal offices, will be able to stop it.

No new de facto segregation or discrimination in education will stop it, either. Black kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids, are all graduating and they're pretty smart. We already knew they were as smart as white kids. That will be on display very soon.

I'm as proud of them as I've ever been of anyone else, and just as happy to be identified, however remotely, with them.. I'm close to 70 years old now, and my time is getting short. The doubling down on racism practiced by some folks in my country has embarrassed and frightened me. But with developments like this, there's still a chance that we can overcome that.

There's a chance that what I tried to teach a bunch of white, upper-middle-class kids won't be wasted. This is a land of opportunity that none still surpass. No one should have anyone hold them back from surpassing anyone else.

Be well. Be careful. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.

Mister Mark