We Can't Be Nice To Each Other For Our Own GoodThe very existence of the Olympic Games is a symbolic gesture in which all nations gather at one stage to compete in a peaceful manner. Within this worldwide effort exists a feeling of national pride that's unique to each participating country. The comments I've witnessed since we learned that Chicago wouldn't be the host city tells me that we may need a lesson in this.
Trolling through Facebook and Twitter during the selection process surprised me to say the least. The "Update" banter on the networking sites had me shaking my head with every comment. It just seemed a little odd to see so many people happy that Chicago lost out, simply because the President of the United States made an effort to recruit the games. It was as though we were pulling against ourselves.
I don't know if I was more surprised or sad to watch political "HaHa's!" as the dominant theme of the moment. Status update after update made fun of the contingent that traveled to Copenhagen on America's behalf.
I suppose our politics are really that terrible. Anytime a Democrat or Republican says something or attends anything, they are immediately pummeled by the other side. Even given extreme severity it seems that we could get behind an effort to recruit the Olympic Games for Pete's sake. Guess not.
As a side note, I'd hate to be the one or two cities that have to follow in Beijing's footsteps as it was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen on TV.
Anyway, congratulations to Rio on being the host city in 2016. I'm sure it'll be fun to watch!
1 comment:
I agree. You had four countries fighting for the Olympics, and we as Americans are so arrogant we feel that everytime we are in the running we should get them. I don't remember the D's bashing the R's when New York's bid fell short to host the 2008 games.
Rio is an major city in a major country that has gotten little recognition over the years and it will be an amazing event there I am sure. Just look at the crowd of people that attended their rally versus ours.
The last time Japan had the Olympics was 1964, Spain was 1992, and Rio - - NEVER. We've hosted twice in the last 25 years. We've also hosted the Winter Olympics twice in the last 27 years. No country has hosted more Olympics than the US.
So it should be no surprise that maybe, quite possibly, it wasn't our turn again, and blaming the POTUS is downright laughable.
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