Olympic-Sized Thoughts
Well, here we are again at the start of another Olympic Games. I've always enjoyed the Olympics, with their pagentry and spectacle. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that during the games, there's always something on TV, especially if the games are in a European or Asian time zone. You can pretty much turn on the TV anytime and watch part of an Olympic event.

There's such a variety of events, particularly in the Summer Games. Swimming, diving, volleyball, basketball, track and field...the list goes on and on. And then there are some things that you have to wonder how they got considered for Olympic events. Just by virtue of them being "Olympic sports", I've actually found myself watching Table Tennis and Badminton. Granted, I won't for very long, but I usually hang around long enough to see if anyone gets hit by the ball. At this level, you really could legitimately have a Ping Pong injury.

Speaking of "Things I Can't Believe They Have in the Olympics," whoever came up with the idea for making Women's Beach Volleyball an Olympic sport: thank you very, very much! Let's face it-female athletes in amazing physical shape, running around in very tight, very skimpy two piece outfits, hugging after each point? Put that in prime time, baby! I'm there!

*ahem* Did I just say that out loud?

Maybe it's just me, but did anyone else think this games' version of the Olympic Cauldron looked like they were lighting the worst biggest joint?



Earlier today, I saw a medal ceremony for a pistol shooting event, which I didn't even realize they had in the Olympics. The gold medal went to a marksman from China, while the silver and bronze both went to Russian marksmen. Now, speaking as an American, should I be worried that the Chinese and Russians have really good aim?

As I was pondering that semi-serious thought, they began the playing of the Chinese national anthem. Suddenly, the gold medal winner became overwhelmed with emotion. He stood there on the podium absolutely weeping, almost uncontrollably, caught up in the moment as he realized the accomplishment he had achieved. All of his hard work and preparation had paid off in the gold. For himself. For his country.

And that right there is one of the greatest reasons for having the Olympic Games: to show what it is we can ultimately accomplish. To be able to celebrate what we can do as individuals, as a team, as a country, and as a race. In the Olympics, the only real reason to be grouped in countries is to be able to have teams necessary for the competition. Every team is participating in something bigger which brings them...us... all together. The Games become the common ground that the world constantly searches for in order to have a joyous and enjoyable gathering.

Nowhere is that more obvious than in the contrast between the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. At the outset, the teams march in under their country's banner, separate, but all gathered on the stadium floor. By the time of the closing ceremonies, the athletes will be seen mixed together on that same floor without a single territorial or cultural border to be found. They will be talking, dancing, hugging...celebrating together joyously and treating each other as people and not flags.

Maybe someday, it will be more than athletes doing that. Maybe.
- posted by Jon @ 5:03 PM

 
Democrats Grabbing Headlines? How About Issuing A Terror Alert?
I always thought that it seemed like terror alerts would crop up every time something happened that the Bush Administration didn't like. I also figured if I noticed this, there had to have been a lot of other people that did too.

Sure enough, there were other people much more observant that I. On the JuliusBlog is a nice timeline of the coincidences of "bad news" and terror alerts. Kudos to these guys for doing the legwork, complete with sources and all.

- posted by Jon @ 11:08 PM

 
"Blind Faith In Your Leaders Can Get You Killed"
So there's a massive concert tour mobilizing out there. The Vote For Change tour is an unprecedented collaboration of musicians putting on multiple concerts in cities across the so-called swing states with an eye on mobilizing people to vote in the election and hopefully change the direction of the country.

One of the major artists involved is a guy whose musical career is very close to my heart: Bruce Springsteen. Longtime fans of Springsteen know what his political views are. All you really need to do is listen to his anecdotes on his various live albums to get a feel for it. Ironically enough, Springsteen has also been one of the more misquoted and misinterpreted artists. Anyone who has actually read the lyrics to "Born In The USA" knows it's about the hardships of a returning Vietnam veteran...hardly good background music for the Reagan campaign.

Normally one to not be so overtly political, Springsteen has joined up on this tour and has given a few interviews on his views as well as a NY Times Op-Ed piece. As usual, he has some interesting things to say:

"Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped that the seriousness of the times would bring forth strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up the lives of our young men and women under circumstances that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1 percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players), increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy our social contract with one another and render mute the promise of 'one nation indivisible.'"

"We offered up the lives of the best of our young people under circumstances that have been discredited. I had to live through that when I was young myself, and for any of us that lived through the Vietnam War, it was just very devastating."

"If there was one single thing I’d like to give every high school kid in the United States, it would be a two-month trip through Europe at some point during the formative years. Because it’s very difficult to conjure up a real worldview from within our borders. It’s hard. It’s hard because we’re so big, and the hegemony of American culture is so weighty and so heavy that it’s very difficult without stepping outside and realizing what it’s like to have the next country just a two-hour drive away, to have a certain kind of interdependence that is different than what we have here. It’s just a certain view of the way the world works that is different. So if I could give every young kid one thing, that would be it -- because it would broaden what we listen to, the way we perceive ourselves, the types of leaders we choose. It would change the nation dramatically."

"Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?"
- posted by Jon @ 12:32 PM