2. No one came forward with a good explanation for why God struck Haiti with a horrible earthquake. So, can anyone think of why God struck Chile? If you hear Pat Robertson speak on this issue, please let me know. I was thinking it might have something to do with its geography, which is vaguely phallic and may constitute an offense in the eyes of a sensitive deity. Pat Robertson, y'know, is in touch with what offends the Deity. 3. Sparty and I have exchanged emails discussing whether the Olympic Games are too nationalistic. We agreed that most of the events reflect individual achievement and individuals should be appreciated for their skills, regardless of nationality.
5 comments:
Nationalizing the Olympics is press gimmick -- probably goes back to the big USSR - USA rivalry in the 1960's or earlier. Just think about Jesse Owens and the Germans in 1936.
Olympics were never intended and still not to be country vs. country. The Olympic spirit is simply to gather the best athletes of the world to compete against each other with no nationalistic ties.
They ought to do away with the flag ceremony at the end of each event, if this is truly what the Olympic committee believes.
I have to take issue about all the nationalism being a press gimmick. Remember: The teams do not march in by sport, but by country. They march into the arena under their national flags. They have their nations names printed on their uniforms. They receive their medals with national anthems playing.
I think the Olympics were set up to reflect nationalism.
Here is a good synopsis of Olympic principles --
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=2263
Sorry I don't know how to make that a live link ---cut and paste it in your address bar if you wish to read it.
The final staement of the article sums up the nationalism which has developed --
"The IOC does not recognize any nation as winner of any Olympic Games. Only winning individuals and teams are credited with victory. But newspapers publish tables indicating the numbers of medals won by each country. These figures have been used to stress the leading roles played by countries like the United States and Russia and to emphasize the competition between them."
Maybe they march in as countries to keep from getting beaten up by the other countries. Thats probably what happened to the Jamaican bobsled team, since they tend to the black side and the Jamaican contingent would be a small one incapable of defending itself in a brawl with the overwhelming majority of white athletes.
The reason Chile was picked for this earthquake is because they have a woman President and she is to be replaced in a couple of weeks, by a man! This is a chance for God to reflect his anger at the change.
When I called you about this, I hadnt read this blog and didn't know you had asked this question. I just wanted to rattle your chains. Touche!!!
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