There is a fuzzy but real distinction that can and I believe should be made, between patriotism, which is attachment to a way of life, and nationalism, which is the insistence that your way of life deserves to rule over other ways of life. ↗
It's necessary to track characters all the way through an opera. If you're dealing with more than one or two characters, it's very easy to forget that the others have lives of their own that feed into the story. ↗
When I go back to NFL functions today, I feel a bit on the outside looking in. I played 13 years in the NFL, and I loved it - made a Pro Bowl and went to the playoffs - but I always felt like I was having to knock the door down to get in. ↗