The positive vibes of the XXX Olympic Games trailed over a few days as the accomplishments of the American atheletes and teams sunk in. A world record number of Gold Medals, 46, were collected by the Americans and a total medal count of 104 was 16 more than the second place athletes from China. It gives me a feeling of pride for our country and for our culture and values. I had the same feeling four years ago after the Beijing Olympics, even though we did not fare as well in those games as we did in London. It happens every four years and it is a good thing. I wrote a "Pearl" about those feelings of national pride for my grandchildren four years ago and I thought I would share it with you. Please feel free to comment. Enjoy!
Dear Gehrig and Eliana,
Good evening my sweethearts.
Granny and I sure enjoyed our time with you in New
Jersey while your mom and dad were in Paris.
They had a fabulous time but we enjoyed our time with you even
more. You are growing so big and are so
accomplished for being only 18 months old.
I think both of you will be very athletic given what I saw on the
playground equipment at Maggie’s Park.
Granny and I watched some of the 2008 Beijing Olympics last
night. It was fabulous. The highlight of the competition was the
men’s 4X100 meter freestyle swimming event which featured a French team who
were the odds-on favorites to take the Gold Medal. They were so confident before the event one
of the French swimmers did a little “trash talking” and boasted his team would
“crush the American team”. There is an
old saying, “Pride cometh before the fall” and it held true last night.
The American team was good, figured to at least take the
Bronze medal in this event. Of the four
young men on the American team, its biggest star is Michael Phelps, a
world-class swimmer who is heavily favored to break the 36-year old record of
seven gold medals in one Olympic Game set in 1972 in Munich, Germany
by Mark Spitz. He needed his teammate’s
help in this event to keep him on that pace.
The other swimmers on the relay team were all very good. Garrett Weber-Gale was to swim the second leg
behind Phelps followed by the first African-American to ever swim in this
event, Cullen Jones. Swimming the final
leg was the oldest member of the team, a 41 year old journeyman swimmer with a
good track record, but with some marginal races under his belt, Jason Lezak.
Phelps’ first lap kept it close, but the French swimmer had
the lead. When Jones hit the water he
didn’t lose any time and Weber-Gale gained a fraction. Then in the final 100 meters, Lezak did the
impossible. He not only caught the
boastful Frenchman, Alein Bernard, but beat him to the touch by .24 of a second
in a thrilling surge at the finish. The
stadium erupted as the winning team flashed on the scoreboard and Team America leaped
for joy, screaming and bellowing, their testosterone levels in overdrive. In America, I am certain that every
viewer screamed along with them as did Granny and I. It was an emotional moment to see the
American underdogs not only win the Gold Medal, but set a new World Record of 3
minutes, 8.24 seconds, which, by the way, beat the old record by over 4
seconds!
Today I drove into Dallas
to take my drag car to be painted. I
made several stops and everywhere I went I heard people talking about the
spectacular swimming event and the even more impressive American win. There was animation and enthusiasm in
everyone’s voice and an unmistakable pride.
I have heard and seen this before when other events and circumstances
have drawn this country together and united us. When all that energy is
channeled correctly, it is a hugely positive force, but when channeled
incorrectly, the opposite is true, which brings me to my next Pearl.
Twenty-first Pearl: Nationalism
is a Double-Edged Sword
Pride in one’s country is what the Olympic Games are all
about. Athletes from around the world
prepare and train for years to represent their country in this
once-every-four-year event. National
pride, as well as billions of dollars, is on the line and the strongest and
best physical specimens of humankind sacrifice everything to compete and
win. Some countries with small
populations might only be able to send a few athletes while huge developed
countries can afford to send hundreds to the Games and at great expense.
Why do we do that? Why
do we spend the money and resources it takes to excel at a game? Because when our athletes win and the Stars
and Stripes, the symbol of our nation and our people, rise above the heads of our
valiant warriors on the medal stand, a feeling of nationalistic pride sweeps
over us. At that moment, as our national
anthem plays in the background, we feel at one with our fellow Americans and it
seems like there is nothing we cannot accomplish if we only pull together. The fervor of victory is intoxicating and we
will pay any price to experience it.
On that same day, in another corner of the world,
nationalistic fervor went awry. The
Russians, still smarting over losing a valuable piece of the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to a now
independent and democratic Georgia,
went to war to regain that territory. I
won’t pretend to understand the politics or the military stratagems surrounding
this conflict. I can only hope and pray
it is over quickly and that cooler heads prevail. To paraphrase President Bush in an interview
he gave yesterday, isn’t it ironic that at a time when the world comes together
in the friendly and spirited competition of the Olympics to promote peace and
harmony among nations, this act of war and disharmony erupts to ruin it. This is the negative side of nationalism.
As Americans we can channel our nationalism into positive
ventures which serve all mankind, or we can turn that mighty force to serve
selfish ambitions. It is my prayer for
you, my darlings that you will grow up in a world with the vision to put aside
the negative aspects of nationalism which embraces war and conflict as a means
to achieve an end, and substitute it with a positive nationalism which embodies
the spirit of the Olympic Games, a spirit of cooperation and oneness as a means
to that same end.
God Bless you and God Bless America and every other peace
loving nation in the world.
Grandpa Jud
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