Brooklyn Smith curated this story which The Appalachian published Feb. 28, 1980.
Now that the 1980 Winter Olympics are history, it’s about time we looked at what the Olympics stand for and what their role is in our troubled world.
In watching the crowd reactions in Lake Placid last week, one could see no indications of national barriers. People were not so much Americans, Russians, Frenchmen, etc., but all were fellow athletes competing for a little piece of gold and some personal, as well as national pride. People watched the events and cheered all contenders, not just their own national representatives.
For once in many months — too many months — people forgot international problems: no guns were fired, no one was killed. The games brought unity and harmony. People were honored for their personal achievements, not disgraced for their country’s wrongdoings.
Without a doubt, new friendships were made, friendships which will last longer than any war. But those friendships are overshadowed by the threat of international conflicts. Nations cannot get along — not even long enough for their athletes to run a race, or swim, or throw a javelin.
In spite of today’s intense fear of impending doom, one ray of hope shines through the dark clouds of war. This ray is the peaceful competitive spirit of the Olympic Games. Even those who do not know a great deal about sports can sense the hope. And no one can deny that we could all use a little of that hope nowadays.
As we watch individuals competing against other individuals, we see people, not nations. If individuals can compete like this, why can’t governments? After all, governments are composed of people.
Or are they?
The U.S. is playing hooky from the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, and all the world is watching to see what happens. The great U.S. is playing the villain, not the Soviet Union. Maybe the Russians did violate the rules of political monopoly, but why does the U.S. feel compelled to jump on the Soviet bandwagon and go and break some rules of its own: the Olympic rules of peace.
Hitler used the Games as a political maneuver and we see what it did for him. Are we to follow that example?
When we were children and members of a ball team, how often were we told that we should not allow personal differences to come between friendly competition but that we should continue to play and play our best in spite of our differences? Someone should tell our President Carter and anyone that agrees with his decision that they are acting like spoiled children and that it is us, not Russians, who are destroying the Olympic ideal.
About three weeks ago, The Appalachian printed another column denouncing the U.S. boycott of the Olympics in Moscow. One faculty member at this university was outraged that anyone could contradict the decision made by the leader of the greatest government in the world. This person stated that no one except the author of the column and a few athletes, would miss the Games.
Maybe he wouldn’t miss the Games, but a lot more people will miss a little more friendship, a little more peace and a little more hope in a time when all these things are hard to find.
