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Essay by Nikos Monoyios |
EVERY FOUR YEARS, THE SPECTACULAR event known as the Olympics graces our world. As the single most broadcast event in the world with an estimated 3.6 billion viewers, the Olympics continues to break attendance records. The Athens 2004 games hosted over 200 nations and the Beijing games is expecting even more. Although impressively triumphant in scale and fanfare, and as the human tragedy dictates, the Olympics have the misfortune of being tainted by politics. From boycotts to terrorist acts, the Olympics have always struggled to remain pure and chaste from the malevolence of human difference.
In the ancient Greek world, the Olympics signaled a truce against all arms. Enemies would drop their weapons and be granted safe passage to congregate in honor and respect of the spirit of the games. Advocating an ethos of participation over winning inspired the eventual script of the Olympic Creed: “The most important thing in the Olympic games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” This spirit founded the Olympic slogan which reads, “Citius-Altius-Fortius.” which means “Faster-Higher-Stronger.” Collectively, the Olympics have inspired all of mankind toward the pursuit of excellence in all facets of life.
Then came modern politics. The American led boycott of the 1980 games in Moscow occurred out of protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Subsequently, the Soviets boycotted the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles. Recent attention has been directed toward protesting the Beijing games because of human rights violations and the Chinese treatment of Tibet. We’ve even witnessed saboteurs of the Olympic torch route try to make their voices heard. Yet, what is ironic, funny, and sad is that the Olympic torch route is known as “The Journey of Harmony.” Witnessing the runners carry the torch around the world breeds a sentiment of stubborn and unrelenting harmonious will. It’s the vision of hope for a brighter future lighting the way. That said, I pity these Olympic protesters because they suffer from a confrontational pathology whose actions will never solve problems, only continue to magnify our wounds instead of cultivating hope. After all, the Olympics are our only global institution that has the ability to generate an international spirit of togetherness that can supersede political strife.
According to members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympic Village, which houses more than 10,000 athletes for 2 weeks, generates an atmosphere of great understanding. As mentioned in an article by sports columnist Josh Peter, former Olympians have also experienced this camaraderie. Anita DeFrantz, former U.S. rower and current representative on the IOC states, “When you live in a community of successful people and you can sit down at any table and share a meal and talk with anyone about experiences at the Games, you know that peace in the world is possible and, indeed, more likely than not.”
Ron Neugent, a swimmer on the 1980 U.S. team which boycotted the Moscow Olympics, is still amazed by the experience of brotherhood which occurred only one year later at an international meet where two of the Soviet Union’s top swimmers fraternized with a crew of American swimmers. “We were in one of the swimmers’ hotel rooms, just kind of sitting around, shooting the breeze,” Neugent said. “They were telling jokes about their government (policies), and I was just shocked because you had this image of the Soviet Union’s athletes basically being robots. I came to the conclusion after that that people throughout the world are the same. We just have a different style of leadership. That’s one of the great aspects of the Olympic Games, the cultural exchange that goes on.” Protesting Chinese politics is one thing, but to transpose the protest onto a venue of peace and harmony is in extremely poor taste. Let’s simply compare Chinese human rights versus the global attitude of our presence in Iraq. Though most of us protest the Iraqi occupation, would it be appropriate to boycott our own Olympic hopefuls from participating in the vision and spirit that defines the Olympics? Boycotting the Olympics is directly offensive and dishonorable to the entire world.
Daniel Kaye, executive director of the International Human Rights Program at UCLA said, “These are athletes from all over the world, and many of whom will go on to positions of leadership. They have this opportunity (at the Olympics) to see and experience other cultures and to break down barriers. It’s not like you see a policy outcome the next week. But certainly for these (athletes), it changes the view of who they are.” Touché.
Come to think of it, the Olympics can be seen as one of the greatest protest the world has ever seen. We are a world of commonalities and familiarities and refuse to be solely subjugated by national politics. The opportunity to constantly and collectively participate in the games demonstrates to the world that we are a world of brothers and sisters with one common spirit, not a people subordinated by policy. In the end, our only differences are that we are subjected by different governments separated by borders on a map.
The Olympic spirit will triumph, and the vision represents the world that we all want. Eventually, nations will be distinctive and celebrated by the culture of its people and not by the colors of their flags. This is the new Olympic dream, one flag… one color.
