Should the Olympics be free from politics, or should it be used to spotlight world issues?

Question

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3416856&page=1

Steven Spielberg, under pressure from Darfur activists, may quit his post as artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, unless China takes a harder line against Sudan, a representative of the film director told ABC News.

China, Sudan's largest oil customer and perennial defender, has come under renewed scrutiny in the lead up to the Olympics, as the country juggles its need for cheap energy with its desire to host a trouble-free games.

Answer 1

the olymips should be one big party celebrating youth and all things sports. let the youngsters get out there and play! lets see whatcha got! of course things like doping and steroids, hgh, etc, will infringe on the fun and we shouldnt be naive when it comes to records/results/etc OR for that matter so hung up on who wins. thugs, (i.e. terrorists), will try and ruin the games too. BUT the party and the show should and must go on!

NOW, more specific to your question, hell no the world should not politicize the party! remember when carter pulled the u.s. team? then the next summer games the soviets pulled their team? NO! the olympics are all about youth, sports, and whats good. and regardless of spielbergs intentions, a quitter is a quitter.

lets just cancel the games then and everybody go hame and and ***** and whine! nah, keep the politics outta the games!

you know, sports can have remarkable powers. jesse owens whipping the nazis. how 'bout the iraqi national soccer team just winning this huge match and giving that country 2 hours of something to feel good about? for those two hours they were together and happy...i'm serious.

Answer 2

It will always be political. Interaction with any individual is even a political act. Why wouldn't this be any different. The only time I have a real issue with it is when a politician threatens to boycott the olympics and not send our athletes. Then they have gone way too far. Then the athletes become pawns in a political game. That is not far to the athletes who train and work so hard and sacrifice so much to go to the olympics in the first place,
At least Spielberg made the decision for himself and according to his conscience. I think that has integrity. And, trust me when I say that I am not a Spielberg fan. I really don't like his movies at all either.

Answer 3

The modern Olympics has always involved politics, as has any international event of that scale.

But it shouldn't be. The ancient Greeks stopped whole wars to hold the games, understanding that it was more honorable to the gods to celebrate the achievements of the human body by outrunning a man than by killing him.

But the modern Olympic games have always involved politics to some degree.

1936: Jesse Owens runs against the "master race"

1956: boycotts to protest USSR invasion of Hungary

1968: black power salute during Star-Spangled Banner

1972: Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists

1980: boycotts to protest USSR invasion of Afghanistan

1984: boycotts in retaliation for 1980 boycotts


That said, there is the opinion that the Olympics are as good a time as any to bring to attention global issues, the entire world is watching anyways. In this case, Spielberg is free to quit his post for whatever reason he wants, at least he's acting upon his conscience. Which the world could always use more of.

Answer 4

The Olympics should be politic free but never will be. The medal count becomes a measure of national pride not individual achievement. Rival country's use success for propaganda like what happened in the cold war. Or it's used as a stage for protest as with the tragedy of the 1972 Munich games.

Of course China, as all countries, will use it to put on a happy face. It's just so sad that one of the bloodiest, most draconian nations on earth is hosting it. But that shows the power of corporation.

Answer 5

The olympics are a GIANT revenue source for the host country. The fact that they are hosted by one country vs another is politics. Bill Richardson suggested that we should threaten to boycott the China olympics if they don't take a harder line against Sudan. I think he's right. If we're boycott a country because they won't support our war in Iraq, why not boycott olympics in a country to get them to help stop a genocide?

Answer 6

you'll never be able to remove politics from the olympics

any time you have so many countries involved in a single event, with so much mass publicity around the world, of course there's going to be politics involved

and in 2008 the need for politics during the olympics is greater than ever, because china is one of the world's great dictatorships and pariah states, with terrible human rights abuses against its own people. millions of chinese citizens are imprisoned, tortured, and arrested for political reasons. all chinese citizens live under a country with no freedom of speech and no freedom of press.

minorities in tibet and xinjiang and inner mongolia and elsewhere are brutally repressed and kept down.

members of falun gong are arrested and tortured and murdered.

the olympics in 2008 will be the perfect opportunity for the world community to shine a spotlight on china's many egregious human rights violations.

Answer 7

I don't know... its rare to get so many coutnries together and to get activists near leaders. so its a great oppurtunity
and politics have been part of the olympics in the past
I think genocide isn't as much political as it is a health and humane issue.

but on the other hand its nice to not have everything be about politics.

maybe national leaders shouldn't speak together about politics but citizens can voice their opinions even to world leaders- thats a compromise right?

Answer 8

It SHOULD be free from politics but we have to face the fact that politics always lies just under the surface. Didn't we always revel when the U.S.A. beat the U.S.S.R. or Red China? Don't we always compare ..... how many gold medals for these same counties as opposed to how many WE have. We don't mind losing to Belgium or Zaire but heaven help us ..don't lose to Russia.

I think the athletes themselves are a lot less political. To them it's all about the sport.

Answer 9

I think that because so many people watch the Games, it would be a wonderful time to talk about the issues. Unfortionatly one must admit that the Games are a big contibuter to global warming, with all the new construction and people coming to the games. Also, a lot of money is spent on the Games that is really needed in health care and education, as I have seen here in Vancouver.

Answer 10

I dunno, I think mostly the Olympics should be free from politics. This is a time where people should focus on the events, and the fact that the world is all together in one location... it's a very special event that way.

The only political issues I think should be addressed are things that we as the human race can all agree on. Like alleviating hunger, ect.