Musings

Spare the Olympics!

As the Olympic torch carries through the streets of Paris, London, and San Francisco, its flame weakens as the protests grow; the flame flickers, and the hopes of an apolitical Olympic in Beijing, China are slowly dimming.

Since the very first Olympics in Olympia, Greece, peace and tolerance has been the hallmark of this event. During the Olympics in the ancient times, the city-states of Greece put aside their differences to join together and take part in a show of strength and agility. Instead of weapons and wars, sporting events were used to portray the supremacy of one city-state over another. Bitter rivals, and sometimes enemies, such as Athens and Sparta, would come together during the days of the sporting spectacle and celebrate the achievements of human strength and agility. Winners at this event, not only garnered the pride as victors to bring home prestige for their nation, but they would also receive a crown of olive leaves which represented hope and peace. Although this tradition is still in practice, along with numerous other traditions that have been passed down through the ages, the Olympics have lost much of their theme and the message of peace and togetherness has been hijacked by political and capitalistic agendas.

As more news trickles out of the snowy plateau of Tibet, where protests are taking place against the Chinese oppressive occupation of the Buddhist haven, the world audience is shocked and appalled by the aggressive response of the Chinese towards the freedom seeking, non-violent monks of Tibet. The Tibetans could not have chosen a most opportune moment to heighten their push for autonomy; with the Olympics just round the corner, there is great attention being paid to Beijing, as if an enormous magnifying glass were focused upon China. China is hoping that the Beijing Olympics will be the catalyst for China’s ascent into the superpower realm; however, with the strife taking place in Tibet, China’s quest for world recognition, for both their athletic abilities and their ‘pristine’ state of communism, will be overshadowed by questions regarding the future of Tibet and China’s handling of it.

These problems coming out of Lhasa have led to protests spreading like wildfire across the world and sadly enough following the Olympic torch to wherever it goes. Stories of protestors attempting to put out the torch with water balloons, or trying to steal the torch are hitting the news wires everyday from France and England, and wherever else the torch may be that given day. Attempts to put out the symbol of the Olympics have gotten so out of hand that detours have had to be taken in the route of the torch through cities like San Francisco, where pro-Tibet protestors are relentlessly fighting to snuff out the torch. These activists/protestors are in fact putting out the flame of the very institution that pushes for the peace they themselves are advocating for Tibet and one that is desperately needed in many other places as well all across the world.

Although what China is doing to the Tibetan people is anything but right, the reaction/response of the world is not correct either. The Olympics were never meant to be a political spectacle; rumors of nations boycotting the opening ceremonies in Beijing are ridiculous being that the opening ceremonies express a tradition and culture of togetherness. Even though history has shown the Olympics to become a type of political platform, whether it was for Hitler’s master Aryan race or the Munich massacre of 1972, our world should not let what once was a call for peace and togetherness become a tradition of politicking and an instrument of modern day hegemony. With Tibetans pleading for assistance and using the Beijing Olympics as a magnifying glass, the world must answer the call for help; however disrupting and undermining a long standing world event that brings all nations together is not the way to go.

The good news is that the International Olympic Committee has responded to the protests by saying that the torch relay will go on; however, what good is a torch relay when the torch is more protected than many heads of states, like it was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thanks to disillusioned protestors, the significance of the torch and the Olympics as a whole has been shrouded in a dark fog of politics. With the relay going as it has been for the past several weeks, many have an ominous feeling about the reception it will have when it finally makes it way back to Beijing, when the 2008 Olympics commence; will everything go according to plan?

The current world populace has forgotten the meaning of the Olympics and what the torch stands for; the Olympic Flame is the essence of that sportsmanship that makes a warrior throw down his sword, and the sooner we realize this, the safer and more peaceful the atmosphere will be in Beijing come August.

posted by thethoughtless @ 2:13 PM 1 comments