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Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
If you haven’t left the house since last Friday it is pretty understandable considering everyone expects you to be watching the Winter Olympics anyway. I tend to be a bit of an Olympic junkie when it comes to watching them. I’m probably the only one who isn’t all excited to sit through three hours of figure skating, but I’ll watch curling and anything else that isn’t in the mainstream events that are regularly shown.
I really enjoy opening ceremonies. I like watching the athletes march in and as my kids will attest enjoy listening to each country announced in different languages. This year’s opening ceremonies were magnificent and I thought that the idea of using drones to make the Olympic rings was extremely well thought out and executed…(wait…maybe I shouldn’t use the word execute so close to North Korea). I also enjoy every time the pageantry of the ceremony and the organizers did not disappoint this year at all. Unfortunately I had to listen to the announcers on NBC drone on and on through most of it, which really took away from enjoying it. I’m not saying that a little explanation now and then aren’t adding value, but did I really care to hear a plug for Katie’s new in-depth journalistic program on some matter that only matters to a small group of bleeding heart tree huggers? No I did not.
It is unfortunate that the media is working so hard to find anything they can in these games to turn into some kind of political statement. It’s neither necessary or all that noteworthy. I don’t watch to have more drama in my entertainment and enjoyment of sport, I watch because to be quite honest when was the last time you got to attend a biathlon or spent the better part of an hour watching people throw themselves down a mountain with a piece of wood strapped to their feet while flipping upside down?
The Olympics come at a critical time for Korea, both south and north, and while I applaud both countries working together and putting apart whatever ideological differences for the next two weeks, I wonder if we can just hold on and take a deep breath to see what happens once the torch is no longer filled with flame. Will the countries work to make a lasting peace and allow their people the dignity and freedom they should have? Or will the cloud of tyranny once again lash out upon that area and keep the attention of all nations focused on their own safety?
It really is almost too much for me to take, so I think I’ll go watch some more ski jumping, because honestly they make me feel a little better about the risks I take daily in my own job. In a way I kind of get the feeling they have up on top of that jump every time I climb a grain bin and have to walk down to the side hatch to get a measurement. I just wouldn’t want to do it for fun. See you next week…remember, we’re all in this together.