The top story in the New York Times one Wednesday in 2015 begins ‘Israel and Hamas escalated their military confrontation on Tuesday . . .’ Inches away, the World Cup story allows, ‘The final score was Germany 7, Brazil 1. It felt like Germany 70, Brazil 1.’ The juxtaposition of balance on the one hand and the exaggeration of how unbalanced the World Cup rout felt on the other is too close to ignore. It’s worth tracing its contours in our media, in our minds and in our lives.
