[specialk4b]

I read this article this morning and got to thinking. Should the Olympics be a pure sporting event or is it appropriate to use them to put an international spotlight on the political or social situation in the host country?

U.S. lawmakers decry Olympics after dissidents blocked | Reuters

What do you think?

[jessibird]

I struggle with this afterall what a more public way to get attention to such issues that are ultimately political, however, there are emotions involved for every athlete involved. They have worked their whole lives to accomplish this and it is not their fault that the hosting country is plagued with controversy.

[Lissa]

People have used the olympics to push a political agenda for years. Sadly this years olympics has been no different. It's suppossed to be about unity. It's suppossed to be about the laying aside of issues and for a short time coming together in the spirit of healthy competition. My hope is that eventually the controversy will die down and that some mutual understanding will result. That is my hope...but not my expectation.

[pgruodis]

All hosting counties try to control the political message coming from the Olympics, but it has a way of turning in the most unexpected and powerful way...

- Jesse Owens' surprising win of 4 golds, and Hitler leaving the stadium
- The tear running down Korean marathoner Sohn Kee-Chung's face as he stood on the podium with the Japanese anthem and flag over his head

Moments like these are far more powerful than any hosting country can create...or any opposition group can hope for.

[PiperH]

At times, too, it's not the host nation that tries to control the political message.

Remember the two American sprinters at the 1968 games in Mexico City giving the raised fist, black power salute on the medal stand?

For better or worse, politics are involved in every part of the Olympics. It's political when they decide which country and which city gets to host the games. It's political when they have the parade into the stadium at the start with each country's athletes marching in behind their respective flag.

It's political when they raise the flags on the medal stand and play the national anthem of the gold-medal winning athlete. It's political when they keep track of which country has how many medals.

Then you have the politics when countries threaten to boycott the games for whatever reason.

Come to think of it, when doesn't politics play a role in anything that happens?

Just my thoughts,

Kevin

[KarenInCa]

I agree with all the responses.
But, I couldn't have summed it up better, Lissa.