my daily chirp

Does it really make sense to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games? Nowadays, politics and the Olympic Games go hand in hand. Is this truly how the Olympic Games should be used?

A couple of thousand of years ago, the Greeks used to call a truce whenever their athletes were competing in the ancient Olympic Games. This really demonstrated the "Olympic Spirit" ideal - fair play, competition, sportsmanship, and peace. Why can't the politicians of today, take their cue from the Olympic founders of the past?

A boycott now simply puts an incredibly unfair burden squarely onto the shoulders of athletes, their coaches and support organizations, and their families. Athletes are sportsmen, not politicians. They will be there for athletic competition and not for policy and decision-making. How easy it is for the rest of us to sacrifice the lifelong efforts and dreams of someone else to express our personal displeasure over some issue, no matter how important that issue.

Honestly, I think boycotts are a misguided use of the Olympic Games in order to exercise minimal political clout and they have no place in the context of athletic competition.

Labels: olympics, politics, sports, thoughts