Sports, Politics, and the Olympic Games (by Jessica Chee-Hing)

For as long as we can remember, countries have competed in a passionate and thrilling race to have the honor of hosting the Summer and Winter Olympics. For centuries, the five looped rings have stood as a symbol of international unity, and the Olympics have become a state of mind for many young contenders. The Games go back thousands of years and no historian knows how they started. One myth says that the guardians of the infant god Zeus held the first footrace, or that Zeus himself started the Games to celebrate his victory over his father Coronus for control of the world. However it started, we have come to recognize the Games as an international competition for the world spotlight. Instead of being a source of multiple passions which unite the worlds of sport, art and culture, the Olympics intertwine politics and the human nature of competitiveness and greed to create unnecessary acts of terrorism and political affairs.

The question many people ask is if the Olympics really bring together nations on common grounds. By the sense of playing the same sports and vying for the gold medal, they do. Some countries even reward each athlete with a cash prize for a gold, silver or bronze medal. However, in light of international unity, the Games instead create unwanted and unnecessary conflict between countries in the race for gold. In worst case scenarios, the citizens of two opposing countries take the 'Olympics' to another meaningless level.

The worst tragedy in Olympics history took place on 5 September 1972, when Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli team in the Munich Games village. The Israeli government retaliated with a top secret mission to kill everyone associated with the raid so that many more Palestinians were eventually killed than Israelis. Thirty-three years later, the Palestinians are still struggling to get their own territory , and the massacre served only to contribute to their international image as violent people and thus unworthy of support.

In times passed, without any publicity or public discussion whatsoever, the Australian government used the Sydney Olympics to introduce permanent legislation allowing the military to be called out against domestic unrest. Innocently titled, the Defense Legislation Amendment (Aid to Civilian Authorities) Bill paved the way for the mobilization of troops against civilians, reversing a centuries-old British legal principle that the armed forces should be confined to external defense.

However, we cannot lay the blame of violence in this world simply on a contest. The fact remains clear. The violence associated with the Olympics, and the fear of more terrorist attacks targeting the country that hosts the Olympics, is not because of the Games itself. Instead, it is the civilians in the countries who take the Olympics to another level and the government who ties in politics, which should be set aside along with the Games.

The Games allow countries that differ greatly in culture, governance, and financial strength to rely on the pure skill of an individual to gain international recognition, rather than on money or power. In a way, it is almost humbling to know that human ability to perform is the way to gain global acclaim, instead of using violence.

The Olympics were a fun and competitive race of the world's elite. Throughout the last century however, governments have been mixing the Games with politics. From the racism protest of African competitors in the 60's to the murders of thirty Mexican civilians who protested in the 70's, politics have always been intertwined in the Games, and probably always will be. What should be said, and hardly ever is, is that in many countries, an athlete's performance in the Olympics is tied to the country's political gain. The logistics of who gets to compete, where the athletes compete, who has the best athletes, and how to beat the other country become sticking points for the athletes, the governments, and the citizens of each country.

No matter if you win or lose, all can agree that the greatest Olympic moment happens before the start of any competition, when no nation is greater or stronger than any other.

Although the Games attract anti-American, anti-capitalist and anti-globalization demonstrations, which may contain some terrorist elements, they are still the symbol for some unity in this world. Even if the contribution is as small as the countries of Africa being similar to the small islands in the Pacific, the athletes play the same sports and vie for the same goal: a gold medal and the recognition of the entire world.

Nelson Mandela once said, "The Olympic Games remind us that competitors can be friends and equals a far greater percentage of the time than they will be adversaries. Even though the competition is fierce, the rivalry ends when the event ends."

Sources

"Olympics Through Time." Foundation of the Hellenic World. 2 Oct. 2005. <http://agones.fhw.gr/>.

The Official Website of the Olympic Movement. 2 Oct. 2005. <http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp>.

"Olympics by Subject." Olympic Studies Centre. 2 Oct. 2005. <http://olympicstudies.uab.es/eng/yellow/dir/op.html>.

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