The Olympics.

One of the interesting cultural items that I have been noticing this week is how so many people are really excited about the Olympics.  Is it just me, or has no one really cared since they were here in Atlanta 12 years ago?  In my mind, Sydney and Athens are just a blur, a blip on the map.  I can honestly say that I cannot remember a soul talking about watching the Opening Ceremonies since Muhammad Ali himself, the great Casius Clay, as it were, lit that beautiful torch down on Hank Aaron Drive so many years ago.  I can still see the tears welling up in my uncle's eyes.  It's a lovely thing, I should tell you, to watch a man cry when you know that he has an abnormally sized collection of rifles, handguns, and camouflage hidden away in the attic.  

The games have no doubt lost must of their magic and luster since the time that I was a child.  I remember the sheer thrill of watching the first games that I can remember, the Seoul games of 1988.  I was 6.  I was in rapture.  I will never forget watching, in prime-time on my grandparent's television set, Greg Louganis jumping from the high dive, his head catching the lower board.  I remember the blood in the pool, I remember that he was inflicted with this virus called "HIV".  I remember this being a very big deal.  But since the turn of the century, it just has not seemed like anyone really cares who bumps their head on the diving board. 

So I suppose that it is kind of nice to hear about all of these parties to celebrate the games.  I'm not sure how many of us, those that are American, really get it, but these games are the first to truly have symbolic meaning in quite a long time.  The symbolism of the host country of China- the emerging superpower, the most populous nation on earth, the sheer spectacle of it all- and their quest to take over the lead in the medal count.  This is the area that the Americans have enjoyed pride of place for 12 years consecutively. In so many ways, you could see the symbolic rise of a new great power in the world and the diminishment of an old one.  I think that might be an idea that many Americans might find uncomfortable.  But the truth is, communist or democrat or tribal, you cannot help but to watch those athletes moving around the track and really just get a sense that they are people like you and me.  They are people with their snap shot cameras and their camcorders.  They are people with their choice of cereal and their love of tea.  They have a favorite color.  They have hopes and dreams.  

And when you look at like that, it's hard to imagine these people as enemies.  It's hard to not want them to have great things.  It is tough to not wish them all the best.  Because they're like you and me, those folks from all over this place.  They essentially have the same needs, the same questions, the same longings.  They lay awake at night and they wonder, sometimes, if everything is really going to be okay.  And I like that we have that bond.  It causes me to love them.  And that, I believe, is a good thing. 

Tatum.