Politics

The Olympics

So, the Olympics officially kick off today? *yawn* I have little interest in the Olympics for a lot of reasons.

First and foremost, the location. I know I’ll get yelled at for bringing politics into the “Olympic ideal” (more on that later) but I can’t celebrate a country where I can’t say that the leader is an idiot. One of the things of which I am most proud is that I can stand up and say that I think President Bush is an idiot and not have to worry about thugs knocking on my door in the middle of the night. Those thugs may be police, military, or para-military, but in a lot of places they’ll come. In China, any criticism of the “Communist” Party will get you a jail sentence and beatings. Heck, this website will likely fall behind the Great Firewall of China after I put the word “Tibet” into this post. The government ruthlessly cracks down on any dissent and has even put foreign journalists behind the firewall in case they would spread non-approved news to the Chinese people.

The second is the “Olympic ideal”. The Olympics have long since abandoned the ideal of the best amateur competition in the world. Most of the athletes are paid professionals that have huge support organizations behind them. It’s no different than the NFL except for the fact that the Olympics pretends that it has ideals. Maybe if Steve Jobs ran the Olympics, the reality distortion field might work, but the Olympics can’t pull it off. It’s a big money-grubbing machine and until they admit that, I have little use for the games.

The last is the drug use. This sort of goes up with number two, but it really needs to be mentioned. The Olympics are a breeding ground for the worst kind of scum that peddle designer drugs that can elude drug tests. The Olympics does a better job than most of trying to test the athletes, but it’s an undeniable temptation for those that want the glory (and the money) that comes along with being an Olympian. While this may not be the fault of the Olympics, it certainly harms the image of the Games.

The politics is always something that goes along with the Games. One of the greatest sports moments in the history of the United States was the Miracle On Ice, when the American team beat the Soviets in hockey. You don’t think that there was some politics involved there? What about the 1936 Games where Jesse Owens showed up Hitler on his home turf? No, no politics there. And don’t tell me the Chinese aren’t seeing these Games as a prime political opportunity to show their people (and the world) what the dragon is capable of. Politics has been and always will be a part of the Games, get over it.

Possibly Related Posts (Auto Generated):

1. Thoughts on the NPR Democratic Debate

© 2008 Kirk Walsh.