Olympic Protests

I am fascinated by the way certain groups draw attention to their cause. Most recently, there have been protests during the Olympic torch relay. Apparently these protests have worked; because high powered political figures have either publically committed or are considering boycotting the opening ceremony. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain has said he will not attend because of China’s stance on Tibet. George W. Bush is still thinking about missing the opening ceremony, but has said that he will attend the games in order to support the Americans who are competing.

I don’t know if China even cares about such things. Perhaps in a world where a subtle public shame technique is important, but everyone who has any training in political science knows that all politics are local and such small stunts are meaningless for real change. It is the equivalent of saying “I support the troops but not the war in Iraq.”

Instead, most coverage of this issue has put the athletes in the forefront of a political battle which they seem to dislike. Half of the athletes seem to have little to no knowledge of current affairs while the others who do pay attention don’t want politics to get in the way of their performance. I guess if I was a world class athlete, I might feel the same way, but since I’m not, I can’t.

It’s time for our athletes to stand up and say, “I know I’m one of the best swimmers/soccer players/softball players/runners/athletes in the world and I have a pretty good chance to show the world yet again that the country I come from allows me to perform at my best. Because of this, I cannot compete because the Olympics are not being held in a place where this is true for all of its citizens.”

When we come from countries which promote such high standards, we ought to live up to them, even if our politicians don’t. For many athletes, this is their one shot at greatness, and sadly, I think it is wasted by the fact that they are competing. By my theory, you’re pretty good if you even make it to the Olympics…but you’re the best if you can turn them down for what you know is right.

If you leave politics up to politicians, you fail to live in a democracy. The same goes for allowing politicians to dictate what happens to athletes. If there is a single athlete who chooses not to compete because of their beliefs…there may be hope for the system after all… but I wouldn’t bet on it.