Distant Focus on Olympic Grandeur Leaves Flaws Invisible
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Watching the Olympics open in Russia yesterday from a distance of several thousand miles gave a different view than seems generally reported the day after. Lead up to the event was informative (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gddpRX14OEQ) and even grand (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgA9y45rCgM). Yet, some critics watching the opening in person saw the fifth Olympic circle fail to ignite and they reported how TV coverage substituted a practice run as the broadcast to avoid coverage of the failed ignition. Other critics saw one of the flame-lighters, the great Olympic champion and now Russian hero Irina Rodnina, as the wrong choice for flame-lighter. Last autumn she re-tweeted a photo from American friends of US President Obama eating a banana, interpreted by some as racist and therefore those critics labeled Rodnina with the same invectiveness. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/07/us-olympics-ceremony-controversy-idUSBREA1620220140207)
To a neutral online observer watching the Olympics opening in Russia, none of the flaws so heavily discussed by commentators seemed noticeable. The procession looked beautiful and as symbolically meaningful as the Olympic originators had dreamed in 1896. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics)
Should the jaundiced views of reporters bent on finding fault be the primary lens through which one observes the international cry for peace and athletic beauty embodied in Olympic gatherings? To the observers at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com, the obvious answer seems to be, “Never!”
No great nation-state can escape its critics, and the criticism pressed in the face of national leaders serves a significant purpose: It displays where improvement may be made. Nonetheless, the grandeur of the Olympics should not be diminished to those who long for expression of an ideal, however distant from the streets of daily life. We each may preserve that grandeur by selecting the message intended by the Olympic organizers as our primary focus.
What do you think?
It’s certainly a spectacular venue. I hope it all turns out well. In general I don’t bother reading critical reports knowing that they’re colored by political considerations.