Blue, yellow, black, green, and red. Simple colors to many, but to few they are a sign of unity, a sign of peace, and a sign of joy. These colors represent a united world, a world that does not have the barriers of race, language, and hate to separate it. This world may seem distant, it may seem like a thing of fantasy thought up by John Lennon, but it is a reality that we have the privilege of witnessing every 2 years. Every two years we witness the world come together and live in peace and harmony for 17 days. Although many may think of these 2 weeks as a fantasy, many others have come to know them as the Olympics. Despite problems that threaten to undermine these ideals of peace and tranquility, we must support these games that can miraculously unite an entire world. The Olympic games began as a man’s dream to break down the barriers race, and reestablish an ancient sporting event to showcase one’s skill to the world. They have, however, evolved into something more than that, they have evolved into an opportunity for government of countries to assert their power and dominance, for corporate giants to expand their paychecks, and for athletes to unfairly win fame in their countries. These detriments to such a beautiful system, however, can be fixed, but something that can perhaps never be fixed or found again is a way to unite the world in perfect harmony. There may never again be another way to unite countries from Asia to the Americas in peace and harmony, there may never be another way for elite athletes to showcase their skills to the entire world, and their may never be another way to break down the barriers of hate that constrict our world so tightly. Steroids have a strong presence in the Olympic games, and have ruined... ... middle of paper ... ...mes are not the games, if the most elite and modern facilities are not used. Would you rather run a race on a gravel track or a state of the art, brand new rubber asphalt track? All in all the Olympics an incredible symbol of the world’s ability to be united no matter the circumstances. They should be thought of as something essential to our ever-struggling world, and not thought of as something that can be thrown out of the window whenever they falter. No matter the cheating, no matter the government intervention, and no matter the money involved, the Olympics will always carry the same ideals they carried when Baron Pierre de Coubertin thought them up. They will always glorify the idea of all nations coming together in peace for one cause, they will always serve as a symbol of unity to a divided world, and they will always be something that is worth fighting for.
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Show MoreNations seem not to have learned from the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Olympics Games hosts have continued to use the event to propagate different political agendas. Human rights groups have over the years fought against decisions by the International Olympics Committee to award to regimes they consider oppressive. Governments use their participation or boycott from the event to communicate their stand on some political issues. Athletes in such nations are disadvantaged, as they do not get a chance to
Since 776 BCE, the Olympics have been a way for people of different cultures to come together and compete in friendly competition. In 1892 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, although it had been over a thousand years since the last game it still had brought together an assortment of different religions and ethnic groups together. Many factors shaping the Olympic Games reflect the changes that have taken place in our world since the last game in 393 CE in Greece such changes include woman’s suffrage, global economy, world wars, and proving competency.
The year is 1972 and people are ready for the summer Olympics. Unfortunately for the eager sports spectators the 1972 Munich Olympics have a much more tragic story line. People don’t talk about any records broken or international competitiveness, instead people remember the Munich Games because of the hostage situation. A Palestinian formed group called the Black September terrorist captured nine Israeli Olympic athletes. Jim McKay one of the Olympic sportscasters at the games says, “The Munich tragedy was the biggest event in my career and the most terrible.” Truly Munich’s is tarnishing the Olympic Games. Even today the impact and repercussions of the game can be felt not only with the heightened security protocol but a lasting social impact as well.
The Olympics are supposed to be a time of peace and a time where countries could come together and be free from politics. The Olympics are also a time where nations should put away their differences and celebrate the reason why they came to participate in the games, which was to play sports. Throughout history, many of the Olympics have lived up to this expectation. At the same time, there have also been some Olympics that have not lived up to this expectation because they have been experienced boycotts, political protests, and even violence. The politics in the Olympics need to be kept out because it there is no place for it. The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow is an example of one Olympics that was not free from politics because of the boycott started by the U.S.
modern Olympics were a vision of one man who had strived to see a unity that can only be
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
Nelson Mandela once said that sports have the power “to change the world… to inspire… to unite people” (Carlin et al., 2008). He said this in 1995 before the rugby World Cup, which help to unite an apartheid stricken country.
The Olympic Games plays a significant role in the world. The relationship between it and host countries is important to investigate for comprehending cultural studies. According to Xu and Kirby (2008), the Olympic Games has a considerable impact on the expression of national identity. For example, London applied this approach to promote its national identity. This can be discovered from the BBC video called James Bond escorts The Queen to the opening ceremony in 2012 (2012): an amiable identity is perceived by the audience through presenting corgi at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, China is no exception. There is an image about the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, it shows a spectacular drumming performance. In addition, an article about
In the past the Olympic games were used as a way for the Greeks to honor their gods. Today the games are not an honoring but more of a social gathering. What’s great about the games today is that everyone has equal opportunity to compete. No matter your gender, size, ethnicity, or wealth, all you have to do is work hard and
The Olympic Games are the leading worldwide sport event that held every 4 years, featuring thousands of international athletes from more than 200 nations participating in a variety of sports competitions. Although the Games are about winning the sports competitions, they also provide a platform for the nations throughout the world to learn different cultures and share uniqueness. The Games are important, and have to be held because they transmit a message of friendship and peaceful between nations.
...al understanding and peace (University, Georgetown).” People should debate about the solution for this problem more often than before, and should hand over this world wide sporting event as for a world peace and for understanding of this big society, to the next generation. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told world leaders to keep their nation's politics out of the Olympics in a forceful address to his membership (Whiteside). It represents the original values of the Olympics and the official opinion of the International Olympic Committee. People should support this position, and should avoid the boycotts, unfair judgments, biased selection of the host countries, and using the Olympics as a political purposes. Therefore, all participants in the Olympics should divide the Olympics and their politics, and absolutely keep their politics out of it.
The ancient Greek Olympic Games are said to be on par with the modern day Olympic Games, despite the cultural intentions they may have. They are basically the same at the core of their institutions. Despite the realized traits of these games, they have been able to create a unifying atmosphere, indirectly causing a pseudo-period of peace for all as the ancient Greeks and the modern world have come together to watch whenever these games appear
For the past few years there has been a very controversy issue that has been plaguing the Summer Olympics. The Summer Olympics was first held in 1896, it’s an international multi-sport where athletes around the world come to compete with other athletes from different countries. There are many events that are held in the Summer Olympics ranging from Track and Field all the way to Volleyball and Basketball. In each Olympic event there are medals that earned to the winners, the first place winners get a gold medal, the second place winners get a silver medal, and the third place winners gets a bronze medal.
...ing and honorable events in world history. There were four crucial parts in the Olympic history that change the games forever. Meaning it changed in all equality from the origin in 766 B.C.E all the way to modern day today which is the latest games in 2012. These games always kept running because it gave people a new way of living by seeing all the different types of countries competing and showing off the skill. This was what most athletes worked for. These games set honorable meaning as the modern day games begun they would light a torch that would symbolize the games had begun. These games weren't just games to some people these games were ways to get a worldwide message across no matter if it was about race, gender, or even life. These games shifted in a way that no one could really explain but it gave everyone a sense of what's really out there in this world.
The greatest athletes of all time have their names set in stone. Every year a new star comes out of the shadows and becomes the focus of global interest. Nations back their athletes financially to ensure they receive a medal. Winning gold in the Olympics Games is seen as the highest honor an athlete can achieve because of its prestigious image. The Olympics have not always been about the athletes. Nations competing have been victims of political scandals. When one country goes against another country, some people do not only view it as a fight for gold, but as a war amongst nations. Soccer fields have become battlegrounds and players, soldiers. Swimming pools turn into bloodbaths, and tennis court nets as do territorial partitions. Since the early 1900s, governments have used the Olympics to prove that their nation is superior by spending more on athletic ability, more on Olympic stadiums, and more on defeating their rivals. At times, athletes can be pushed so far that they collapse under the pressure of chasing for gold. All of the above will be discoursed from a financial, political, and historical point of view.