The world was different when I was a boy. The Cold War pitted East against West in a terrifying nuclear stalemate. Communist China was a closed society, not unlike today's North Korea (but much larger).
The Vietnam War as was raging. The Vietcong had the full backing of the Chinese. The daily "casualty report" was sobering, and there was no end in sight.
Americans were fiercely divided over Vietnam. Some felt that the war was not winnable and that the fortunes of Vietnam were not worth the sacrifice that our troops were making. Others felt that questioning the war effort was offensive to our troops and tantamount to treason.
The war was not the only divisive issue. The Generation Gap, Equal Rights, the environmental movement, and Women's Liberation were all hotly debated topics. Riots broke our in our cities, protests were staged on college campuses. The entire social "establishment" was being questioned and re-examined. And most disturbing of all, our political and ideological leaders were being assassinated with shocking frequency.
It's difficult to imagine now, even for those of us who lived through it, just how tense and catastrophically dangerous the world seemed at that time. And yet, in the midst of chaos, along came an event that boldly defied humanity's brutal modern tribalism.
I still remember the promotional message playing on our black and white console television. Athletes from around the world were going to assemble in one city for two weeks of competition in a wide variety of sports. Yes, even East Germany and our arch-nemesis, the USSR, would be participating. It was as though humanity was going to be given a much needed vacation from the specter of global nuclear annihilation. For seventeen days, we were just going to be people instead of sworn mortal enemies.
I cannot tell you how important that revelation was to me. In some ways, the Olympics seemed even bigger than the Space Program (the importance of which seemed HUGE at the time).
Humanity has accomplished some amazing things:
- the codification of knowledge, language, and thought
- the development of fine arts
- advancements to counter the effects of disease and suffering
- advancements in engineering, telecommunications, and transportation
Among these great achievements, I would list the Olympic Games. Every two years (with a few exceptions), and even in times of great challenge, the Olympics reaffirm of our ability to set our differences aside and cooperate as a global community, person to person, for common and altruistic and ultimately enjoyable goals.
Tribalism is still strong within the ranks of the human population. Look no farther than our current political discourse. But we do have the ability to rise above tribalism and sectarianism and nationalism, and we do it when it really matters. The Olympic Games show us the model for international cooperation, and they'll be back every few years to remind us of what we can achieve when we all work together.
Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South
