RE-JUDGING THE OLYMPICS
The Olympics are a global marvel. All that talent and beauty and commitment. And yet from the sidelines, one wonders. Taken collectively, the number of work-hours by these athletes and their coaches must total in the tens of millions. All those hours eventually come down to just a few minutes or seconds of achievement.
As splendid as these achievements of the human body and spirit are, there is an inevitable self-absorption involved. The Olympics are, in the final measure, a Me affair. I think of all the achievements those tens of millions of brilliant work-hours might have realized in the world beyond these individuals. All those hours instead dedicated to society's pursuit of health, education, welfare, environment and peace. As in the case of such traditional communal efforts like scouting, volunteering, Doctors Without Borders, and the Peace Corps.
This is not a call to cancel the magic of the Olympics. No! Simply to raise the question of what marvels all this Olympian time and talent might mean invested away from the games and out in the world...
SUING AS THE NEW SPECTATOR SPORT
We've long been a litigious society. We sue at the drop of a mistake, little or large. This habit has become a virtual convention when it comes to our manufactured products. Lately, the automobile industry in particular. From a culture of "buyer beware" we've become one of "seller beware."
Now while safety is important, how many times do the litigants admit that the most serious safety issues with their cars are not an occasional mechanical defect...but rather the monstrous defect of their own bad driving and maintenance?
Human nature -- this amazing proclivity we have for finding fault everywhere but within ourselves. I'd guess that for every fatality caused by a car, there have been countless thousands caused by the defect behind the wheel. I know this to be true, because I'm one of those defects. And you...?
The Olympics are a global marvel. All that talent and beauty and commitment. And yet from the sidelines, one wonders. Taken collectively, the number of work-hours by these athletes and their coaches must total in the tens of millions. All those hours eventually come down to just a few minutes or seconds of achievement.
As splendid as these achievements of the human body and spirit are, there is an inevitable self-absorption involved. The Olympics are, in the final measure, a Me affair. I think of all the achievements those tens of millions of brilliant work-hours might have realized in the world beyond these individuals. All those hours instead dedicated to society's pursuit of health, education, welfare, environment and peace. As in the case of such traditional communal efforts like scouting, volunteering, Doctors Without Borders, and the Peace Corps.
This is not a call to cancel the magic of the Olympics. No! Simply to raise the question of what marvels all this Olympian time and talent might mean invested away from the games and out in the world...
SUING AS THE NEW SPECTATOR SPORT
We've long been a litigious society. We sue at the drop of a mistake, little or large. This habit has become a virtual convention when it comes to our manufactured products. Lately, the automobile industry in particular. From a culture of "buyer beware" we've become one of "seller beware."
Now while safety is important, how many times do the litigants admit that the most serious safety issues with their cars are not an occasional mechanical defect...but rather the monstrous defect of their own bad driving and maintenance?
Human nature -- this amazing proclivity we have for finding fault everywhere but within ourselves. I'd guess that for every fatality caused by a car, there have been countless thousands caused by the defect behind the wheel. I know this to be true, because I'm one of those defects. And you...?
I've had my share of auto accidents...so I'm not saying anything for fear of incriminating myself!
ReplyDeleteAs to Olympic athletes and all those hours of preparation, consider required time for "raising the bar" from previous accomplishments, i.e. goals for breaking existing records. Goes back to the Greek beginnings I guess.
ReplyDeleteJerry, these Olympians are remarkable human beings. I often wonder what their remarkability might accomplish off the playing fields. As you may remember, there was nothing remarkable about my baseball/football skills along Thomas Avenue. Even though I ate Wheaties by the bushel!!
ReplyDeleteAaah see Jack, not all talent for all indivduals. Did any of those kids on Thomas Street grow up to teach and write like you? Did any of them grow up to do what I have done in sound engineering? We might have wanted to do it all but God was good, eh?
ReplyDeleteYep, God was good!
ReplyDelete