2008 Woodie Awards
Nations should use Olympic Games to address global issues
Andrew Kindiger
Issue date: 8/17/08 Section: Opinions
If nations of the world can come together every two years to compete peacefully and respect the talents and abilities of diverse athletes, it shouldn't be so challenging to express these sentiments in other venues. The Olympics provide for a wide array of cultures and ideologies to be tolerated so many nations can assemble in the same place for a short time. However, after the games are over and the athletes return home, the same hostilities and aggressions between nations remain.
Politically, the world has entered an age in which agreement does not have to be achieved for nations to have a mutually beneficial relationship. America still will trade with China despite its disagreement with how China treats its citizens in the wake of economic expansion. Many countries chose to waive their resentment of China's history of human rights abuse so that the Olympic Games could take place in Beijing. The Chinese government recognizes these political faults and has promised to slowly change its politics in an effort to grant its citizens more freedom. However, just like the positive sentiments of the Olympic Games dissipate between nations as the events end, China will continue to lack religious tolerance and keep its citizens from challenging the government.
For problems like this to end, the nations of the world are going to have to feign interest in each other much more often than once every two years. An interest in the political dysfunctions of the international community should not only interest presidential candidates and political delegates. Those who tune in to the Olympics on TVs world-wide should surf the Internet or read a newspaper with 1/8 the interest they give diving or beach volleyball.
It might seem like too much to ask for casual TV viewers to start taking an interest in the politics of the global community, but thanks to technological advancements like wireless communication and the Internet, the world has become a little smaller. Communicating ideas to a vast network of people is no longer a problem. Now all we need is interest in the world community.
Politically, the world has entered an age in which agreement does not have to be achieved for nations to have a mutually beneficial relationship. America still will trade with China despite its disagreement with how China treats its citizens in the wake of economic expansion. Many countries chose to waive their resentment of China's history of human rights abuse so that the Olympic Games could take place in Beijing. The Chinese government recognizes these political faults and has promised to slowly change its politics in an effort to grant its citizens more freedom. However, just like the positive sentiments of the Olympic Games dissipate between nations as the events end, China will continue to lack religious tolerance and keep its citizens from challenging the government.
For problems like this to end, the nations of the world are going to have to feign interest in each other much more often than once every two years. An interest in the political dysfunctions of the international community should not only interest presidential candidates and political delegates. Those who tune in to the Olympics on TVs world-wide should surf the Internet or read a newspaper with 1/8 the interest they give diving or beach volleyball.
It might seem like too much to ask for casual TV viewers to start taking an interest in the politics of the global community, but thanks to technological advancements like wireless communication and the Internet, the world has become a little smaller. Communicating ideas to a vast network of people is no longer a problem. Now all we need is interest in the world community.
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