The Olympics start in a few days. Maybe the time has come to see if this international spectacle is still worth doing.
Others have raised this question, but mostly in the sense of how much this pageant costs. Cities go into debt. Stadiums go unused. Neighborhoods are destroyed to make way for the necessary facilities.
These arguments are certainly valid. However, countries regularly spend money on all kinds of wasteful things. Ever been to the Pentagon? The Senate Gym? I have a different reason for questioning the value of the Olympics. I do this while being a massive sports fan. My playing days now long over, I will watch anything that calls itself a “sport.” Have you watched Championship Hatchet Throwing? I have. How about “Corn Hole?” I’ve spent hours on that one. And when it comes to the Olympics, I have always been glued to the tube to watch the best athletes in the world strut their stuff.
So, here’s my point. I love the athleticism of the Olympics. I hate the nationalism.
Why can’t the best athletes on the planet compete against each other without flags on their pants? What possible connection does a particular person’s athletic skill have with the country they come from? Does a person really deserve to feel better about their nation because someone who lives there can run faster than someone who lives somewhere else?
For example, there is a guy named Sha Mahmood Noor Zahra. He is a sprinter who runs the 100- meter dash. He’s from Afghanistan. He likely will be marching in under the Afghan flag during the opening ceremonies and wearing that flag on his uniform. To the extent that anyone in Afghanistan has enough electric power to be able to watch Zahra race, or even has a TV, they will be rooting for their man to race to the front during those nine or so seconds that will determine the fastest man in the world. And what if Mr. Zahra wins and stands on the podium while the Afghan national anthem plays? Will that make life in Afghanistan any better? Will that feed their poor? Will that give their people the freedom that twenty years of American fighting and deaths were unable to give? Will that make Afghanistan a better place to live? Of course, not. So, what’s with the flags and the anthems?
Haven’t we had enough of misguided nationalism? Our prior President, the orange one, preyed on the belief that being an American made you better than anyone else; that the foreigners who tried to come here weren’t up to the standards that made us so good. Please let’s not adopt that man’s mania. The Olympics reinforce the attitude that conforms to Trumpian values – that my country is better than your country.
This weekend is the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon. That trip showed us the planet where we all live. Our planet shows no boundaries, no flags. The Olympic reinforcement of our ancient and now outmoded and unnecessary tribal identities turns our backs on the lesson of Apollo 11, and it does us no good.
Sure, our country is a great place to live, at least for most of us. And we, like all countries, can make our nations even better places to live. But none of that depends on how high one of our people can jump or how far they can throw a big, round metal ball.
Then again, maybe we could use the Olympics for something worthwhile. If the Olympiad is going to glorify a competition between nations, how about that competition substitute for the most atrocious of international competitions – war? When countries have problems with each other, let them put down their missiles and their bombs and pick up their javelins and their swimsuits. If athletic excellence determines national superiority, then let that be our guide.
Then the Olympics can accomplish what all the armies through all the decade of fighting had been unable to achieve. When Shah Mahmood Noor Zara breaks the tape ahead of the Russians and the Chinese and all the others, then Afghanistan will not have won just a gold medal, they will have won their freedom.
That won’t happen, but we still can reform the nationalistic Olympics so that they no longer are more problem than pageant.
We were right 
Excellent!
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if countries could resolve their conflicts with athletic events!
The cost to the hosting countries for the Olympics far exceeds the benefits to their citizens. Maybe there should be a permanent place where all Olympic events happen. The facilities would be used over and over again. Countries could compete for it and the country that has the best plan would win. They’d be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities even during the down times.
I feel really badly for the athletes this year. After years of training and hard work and dedication, to have to perform without any spectators would be demoralizing, I would think. No cheering, just silence. How awful.
I think it’s fine to represent your country but the focus on the medal counts for each country is a bit much. I’d prefer to see the focus on the athletes. They could do away with playing the national anthem of the gold medal winner’s country.
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