Counterpoint: Olympics May Be a Spectacle, but They Should Be Respected

Note: This article is in response to Lisa Horne's article Beijing Olympics an Embarrassing spectacle of Doping, Political Stunts.

The Olympics (ancient and modern) were founded to celebrate sport and minimize political influence. Politics and cheating found their way in, as they do in every aspect of life, thanks largely to the IOC. But this shouldn't stop fans from enjoying the Games.

We should celebrate the U.S. athletes and not focus on the politics.

Though repressive, China is not the worst regime to have hosted the Olympics. What do people remember most about the 1936 Olympics, Nazi propaganda, Jewish and other anti-Nazi protests of the games (which were warranted), or Jesse Owens and the German who helped him?

In addition, many Olympiads have seen protests, boycotts, and in the case of the Munich games, terrorism. (A Uighar seperatist has just posted an Al-Qaeda-style video-taped threat against the Beijing games, which will undoubtedly strengthen Chinese support for tight security). In 1956, it was Hungary and the Suez Crisis.  In 1980, the invasion of Afghanistan and the US-led boycott. The Mexico City games were marred by class violence. But except for Munich and Moscow, nearly every Olympics has had many moments that were untainted by politics, and inspirational for Americans.

The IOC should not have chosen China to host the Games.  They saw the possibility of a huge market to exploit and they chose money over making a statement about human rights. Protesting will not convince the Chinese people that their government can be, and currently is, repressive; they already know that. Tiananmen Square has been almost deserted for the last few weeks.

Since the IOC announced in 2001 that Beijing would get the Games, protesters have had seven years to voice their opinions. This doesn't mean that they're not entitled to it now, but at this point, it's more of a distraction than anything.

If we don't want to see money pouring into China, we shouldn't buy Chinese products, and should write our congressman about the trade deficit. China's economy has shown some weaknesses as well, such as a 20-year high in inflation and growing food prices.

Although they were expensive, and will contribute to the economy of Beijing, the Olympics are not nearly as important to the Chinese elite's prestige as their ability to avoid the food riots of the last decade.

Most host countries lose large amounts of money on the Olympics, and the people that go to China will see the thousands of guards "protecting" them from protests. This does not enhance the respectability of the regime with tourists, nor with its most important audience, its own people.

In eight to 12 years, China will be a drastically different country. The IOC could've waited. But they didn't, and the Chinese will look back on these Olympics with pride.

China's economy is doing well in part because property is leaving the state's hands and enriching a new middle class and spurring foreign investment. This process is no doubt accelerated by Olympic activities.

Whether this leads to the ultimate destruction of the Communist elite and the restoration of basic rights for Chinese citizens (and especially minorities) remains to be seen.

But the Chinese people, who will be enjoying the Games, know about this first-hand. Censors can barely keep up with the amount of "illegal" internet traffic (such as non-state approved news). Grandiose propaganda doesn't work the way it did in 1936.

In 1984, Sarajevo hosted the Games while still under a Communist, although moderately pro-western (or at least anti-Soviet), government. A decade later, as the city was shelled by the Serbs and atrocities were committed, the people of Sarajevo looked back to the Games as a source of pride and unity, even though they were relics of the Communist past.

When the city was rebuilt, the Olympic facilities were given a special importance in the reconstruction effort.

China is still suffering the effects of the massive earthquake, and if the Olympics distract them and make them proud of their country's achievements, there is nothing wrong with that.

Some athletes will cheat; this has been proven throughout history. The original (ancient) Olympics had so many cheaters that a special alter was set up on Mount Olympus for disgraced athletes to sacrifice to Zeus to atone for their actions. But this did not stop the Greeks from honoring the true winners.

In 1904, the American winner of the Olympic marathon drove up to 20 miles of the race (depending on the source) in the U.S. team's car, as well as drinking a strychnine (then used as a stimulant—no wonder everyone died young) and brandy mixture while he was actually running.

Pretty much every Chinese athlete will dope, just as East German and Soviet Union teams did for decades. However, when we beat the dopers, this will just make it that much sweeter, just as it was during the Cold War.

There is cheating in almost every sport, but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't watch. We should watch so we celebrate the clean winners, and athletes that have genuinely persevered to reach the Olympics.

If we focus on the people that try to subvert the Olympic ideal (like under-age competitors or coaches that push their protegees to hurt their own bodies), there's no point in watching the Olympics. We should focus instead on inspirational figures such as Lopez Lomong, the U.S. flagbearer.

The Olympics is still a special event held once every four years (two if you count the winter games), and the athletes that respect the Olympics and what they stand for should be rewarded with an appreciative audience.