Politics and the Olympics.
Politics
and the Olympics.
In
the years past, nothing good has come out of mixing politics and the Olympics.
It started with the snub of Jesse Owens by Hitler in 1936, because of race.
Then escalated to the black- gloved fists of John Carlos and Tommy Smith in
1968, because of inequality. It reached a crescendo in 1972 with the murder of
Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists because of politically motivated religious
differences. In the 1980’s, the last bastion of pure political differences
caused two Olympiads to be disrupted. In 1980, the United States boycotted the
Moscow games, and so in 1984 the Soviet Union returned the favor in Los
Angeles. In both instances, it was an exercise in futility, as nothing was
accomplished.
The Olympic games should be more about
sporting competition, and less about the political cause of the day. If the
Greeks, who invented the Olympics, could put aside political differences for
the period of an Olympiad, then why can’t we do the same? While it is
understandable to showcase political causes on the world stage that is the
Olympics it would be nice to forget the politics of living in this world, for
two weeks, and concentrate on something entertaining, dramatic, and less
important. In the grand scheme of thing’s, sports will be forgotten, and so
will the cause of the day, but most important; the personal achievement and the
self esteem that goes with competing, will not be forgotten.
Comments
Post a Comment