2008 Woodie Awards
The world needs the Beijing Summer Olympics
Matt Flanagan
Opinion Editor
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Opinion
Poverty, genocide and civil warfare are currently tearing up several parts of Africa, namely Uganda and the Darfur region of Sudan.
Palestinian and Israeli forces have been at odds for over 50 years with no apparent end in sight.
Earlier this month, the Tibetan Freedom movement had begun again with the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Communist Party, signaling protests around the globe along with violent strikes and mass looting.
The U.S. continues its struggle to fight terrorist organizations and insurgent forces in places around the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
We are facing an economic recession on a global scale, and our planet seems to be getting hotter and hotter by the day, as each carbon atom sent from our cars and factories into the atmosphere makes us one step closer to utter oblivion.
The world needs something that will unite its peoples and celebrate their gifts, not tear them away from families or censor their beliefs.
Like the Olympics.
The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held this year in Beijing, China, starting on Aug. 8, 2008.
Though protests and riots have occurred during past Olympic Games, the event has always fostered an attitude of welcome toward all countries and cultures, regardless of political or national ideals. Sure, the boycotts have already started in neighboring countries like Tibet, but the Olympics Games are about the spirit of friendly and honest competition. In these trying times, I think it's becoming increasingly important to stress to all nations and all cultures that we, as humans, have equal parts to play in this world of ours. Such is the ideal of the Olympics.
While the games don't exactly fix our climate change problem, or stop poverty or genocide, they do illustrate an important facet of our nature as human beings -- the ability to acknowledge the fact that our politics and our personal feelings toward other cultures just aren't that important in the long run. That we are all human beings in the end, and as such, we all deserve equal opportunities to prove our worth. If you look past the physical sporting events of the games themselves, you will witness that very fundamental truth about human nature.
By the time this issue hits the stands, the Olympic torch will have already been brought by relay from the city of Marathon to Athens, Greece, and handed over to members of the Beijing Organizing Committee in Panathenaikon Stadium. This ancient tradition of delivering the torch symbolizes the spirit of the games: that of international cooperation.
This is the spirit of the Olympic Games and also the spirit that I wish to share with each of you.
Palestinian and Israeli forces have been at odds for over 50 years with no apparent end in sight.
Earlier this month, the Tibetan Freedom movement had begun again with the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Communist Party, signaling protests around the globe along with violent strikes and mass looting.
The U.S. continues its struggle to fight terrorist organizations and insurgent forces in places around the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
We are facing an economic recession on a global scale, and our planet seems to be getting hotter and hotter by the day, as each carbon atom sent from our cars and factories into the atmosphere makes us one step closer to utter oblivion.
The world needs something that will unite its peoples and celebrate their gifts, not tear them away from families or censor their beliefs.
Like the Olympics.
The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held this year in Beijing, China, starting on Aug. 8, 2008.
Though protests and riots have occurred during past Olympic Games, the event has always fostered an attitude of welcome toward all countries and cultures, regardless of political or national ideals. Sure, the boycotts have already started in neighboring countries like Tibet, but the Olympics Games are about the spirit of friendly and honest competition. In these trying times, I think it's becoming increasingly important to stress to all nations and all cultures that we, as humans, have equal parts to play in this world of ours. Such is the ideal of the Olympics.
While the games don't exactly fix our climate change problem, or stop poverty or genocide, they do illustrate an important facet of our nature as human beings -- the ability to acknowledge the fact that our politics and our personal feelings toward other cultures just aren't that important in the long run. That we are all human beings in the end, and as such, we all deserve equal opportunities to prove our worth. If you look past the physical sporting events of the games themselves, you will witness that very fundamental truth about human nature.
By the time this issue hits the stands, the Olympic torch will have already been brought by relay from the city of Marathon to Athens, Greece, and handed over to members of the Beijing Organizing Committee in Panathenaikon Stadium. This ancient tradition of delivering the torch symbolizes the spirit of the games: that of international cooperation.
This is the spirit of the Olympic Games and also the spirit that I wish to share with each of you.
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