Sunday, August 4, 2024

Bill Crawford: Olympics Provide Respite of Good Cheer

What a rare and special respite. Thank you Olympics!

Getting to cheer for American contestants without having to first determine if they were conservative or liberal, socialist or capitalist, Republican or Democrat felt like a blessing. Suddenly, it did not matter if they were white, black, Hispanic or Asian, believers or atheists, vegans or carnivores, one percenters or deplorables. Their sexual habits were not an issue. All that mattered was that they were Americans representing our country.

Such positiveness used to be quite common for us. Not so much any more.

Author Howard Burton writing in The Hill described what he called “the average American temperament these days.”

“Somehow, an ever-opinionated but fundamentally kind-hearted people have become transformed into a collection of bitter, irascible, clannish, overly sensitive creatures perpetually mired in a constant state of flinty irritation at ‘the other half’ of the nation, inexplicably determined to spend their days hurling increasingly bitter ad hominem accusations at each other across a patently irreconcilable divide.”

“The present state of American dysfunctionality — for that’s really what it is, let’s not mince our words here — is the inevitable result of a media landscape that has been slowly and steadily demonizing ‘the other side’ for decades (pick your side) so that ‘the news’ has inevitably become transformed from ‘current affairs’ or simply ‘what’s happening’ to ‘how they are out to get you.’

Hmmm.

An article by Michael Dimock and Richart Wike published by the Pew Research Center asked why America is so cleaved and responded:

“In their study of polarization across nations, Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue argue that polarization runs particularly deep in the U.S. in part because American polarization is ‘especially multifaceted.’ According to Carothers and O’Donohue, a ‘powerful alignment of ideology, race, and religion renders America’s divisions unusually encompassing and profound. It is hard to find another example of polarization in the world,’ they write, ‘that fuses all three major types of identity divisions in a similar way.’”

“What’s unique about this moment – and particularly acute in America – is that these divisions have collapsed onto a singular axis where we find no toehold for common cause or collective national identity.”

Hmmm.

For me, and apparently the many Americans shown in attendance in France, the Olympics provided such a toehold. I felt a common cause in cheering for our athletes and certainly felt a strong sense of national identity.

As the Olympics fade and national politics recaptures our focus, I fear our judgmental “flinty irritation” with each other will return. How sad.

“Judge not, that you be not judged” – Matthew 7:1.

Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess Bill missed the blasphemy that was on full display at the Olympics.

Anonymous said...

I presume the Olympic closing ceremony will mock Islam. I'm confident the Olympics would never discriminate.

Anonymous said...

12:43 PM, not likely.


2 Timothy 3:5

Anonymous said...

Olympics are a joke that lets you rabble nibble on some, in this case and this case only, nationalism.

Return the Olympics to the martial contests they once were. Make it a requirement that no athlete can compete but for the country in which he was born and still lives. Disallow purchasing ringers.

Anonymous said...

They lost me at allowing men to beat up women. Don’t equivocate. Don’t call it hate speech. It is the height of absurdity and makes this once hallowed event a charade of its former glory.

Anonymous said...

Obviously Bill has never read "Circus Maximus" by Andrew Zimbalist. This economic analysis of the Olympics and World Cup shows how bidding to host either is the equivalent to host a plague. When considering the disruptions, tourism actually declines for host cities. The cities are left in economic ruin with rising crime and poverty.

No wonder that Bill thinks the Olympics are wonderful. Unlike Midas, liberals like Bill turn everything they touch to dross.

Anonymous said...

I lost interest once domestic violence, aka “women’s” boxing, became an official Olympic sport.

Anonymous said...

And I guess the opponent some of the Female boxers is cool too

Just a normal dude said...

Guys, he wasn't talking about France's bad taste as demonstrated in the opening ceremony. Awful is too kind of a description for that, and no, Islam will not be treated to similar denigrations. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed these Olympics and it has been nice to see the universal rooting for our U.S. team by my fellow Americans.

By the way, when is that 16 year-old high school runner from Texas suppose to run? He made the team, and I thought it was a member of the men's 4x400 relay team. Do they run today, or does anyone know?

Thanks in advance.

Anonymous said...

We are simply spoiled and arrogant. Until we have direct competiton with other nations (Olympics etc.) we simply do not recognize the very real struggle for limited resources which all nations are involved...even us. We think we have got it made so we have nothing better to do than turn on each other. We will be unprepared when a REAL enemy emerges to kick our ass.

Anonymous said...

@3:30 PM
It doesn’t even have to be a “real enemy” because the US has won very few wars on our own. WW2 was more the USSR than the US which is why Europe was divided behind the Iron Curtain for so many years. The NVA beat us and ran us out of Vietnam. We couldn’t beat the DPRK which is why the Korean DMZ exists. We occupied Kabul but never truly defeated the Taliban. And who can forget the early victories of the Japanese against us in Southeast Asia?

Now compound our history of deafeat with the long lost industrial capability and imagine what would consititute a “real enemy” today.

Anonymous said...

When I see poor, struggling amateurs like LeBron James and the rest of the US team wailing on Puerto Ricans and Scottie Scheffler winning medals, I think to myself, "You know, these kids show some real heart. If they can manage to feed themselves while they train for the future they just might be able to make something of themselves..." I also think to myself, "Why in the hell does Puerto Rico have an Olympic basketball team?"

Anonymous said...

I look at the Olympics the same way as I do human rights - why bother?

Mike in Clinton said...

USA! I love watching the Olympics. Can’t hold it against the athletes that the French chose to be French. That’s like getting mad about the Super Bowl half time show.

Anonymous said...

Forget the opening. Enjoy the athletes performance.

Anonymous said...

@2:26 thanks for trying to bring some sanity and realism to this conversation, but obviously you don't know the audience on JJ; all they want to do is bitch, especially when they can do it and include anything Crawford/Salter and others may say regardless of how benign the topic of their column.

Anonymous said...

The Olympics have unfortunately become just another avenue for "what can I..." - not we, us, our country or fellow citizens - "...get out of this?" I really do not want to be a cynic but I will not put on rose-colored blinders either. I take no issue with anyone trying to earn a living, even "seeking their fortune," as it is sometimes expressed. It is also said, "fortune favors the bold," "with great risks often comes great rewards," etc.

I do not take issue with those who are willing to work to earn what they seek, even great wealth, for themselves and their families. On a basic level, that is survival. My problem is with those who are hypocrites about it, or worse, those who lie, cheat, or steal to obtain things they are not willing to earn through honest effort and work. For those who would allege that the world and its peoples have always been so, I could offer numerous counter-examples. In light of the current election cycle in the US, I'll offer these: Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Carter and Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Ford. If you do not know and understand why these are examples, a longer post here will not be able to further your education.

Anonymous said...

"what can I..." - not we, us, our country or fellow citizens - "...get out of this?"

You might even be reminded of current college football. No such thing any more as,

'What can I do for my school and my team?'
'What does Coach expect of me?'
'How can I help the team achieve its goals?'

Anonymous said...

4:40's favorite song is, "Don't know much about history."

Anonymous said...

It appears that some people on here don’t know the difference between their own religion and Greek mythology. I’m sure these people take offense to being called ignorant, but hey, the shoe fits perfectly.

Also, is a person who is born with a vagina and ovaries and doesn’t identify as trans and isn’t on hormone therapy a girl or a boy? Y’all seem to be incredibly confused on that point as well (the Algerian boxer). Funny, y’all were talking about gender in such simplistic terms before this controversy.

Anonymous said...

" Funny, y’all were talking about gender in such simplistic terms before this controversy"

I still am talking about the simplicity of gender. There's always an exception to the rule, but it doesn't change the rule, and it surely doesn't become the rule. There are two genders, male, and female.

Anonymous said...

And which of those two genders is the Algerian boxer, who, for her entire life, has had a vagina and ovaries, and is not undergoing any sort of treatment to transition her gender from female to male, 1:38?

Again, a lot of your friends seem to be confused on that point. See above. Can you please enlighten them?

Anonymous said...

"There are two genders, male, and female."

Wrong. There are two sexes, male and female. Gender is a fabrication dreamed up to suggest sex has no identification limits.

And I don't give a shit what Tom Head thinks.

Anonymous said...

Question for all the smarty pants on here: when a person’s chromosomes don’t match the genetalia they were born with (like the Algerian boxer), which bathroom should they have to use?

Anonymous said...

August 5, 2024 at 2:40 PM, the chromosomes determine sex. To put this question away for good, the IOC should perform the test noted in the article below.

https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/gender-row-boxers-were-disqualified-world-championships-after-chromosome-test-2024-08-05/




Anonymous said...

https://notthebee.com/article/international-olympics-committee-spokesman-defends-female-boxing-decision-saying-we-did-away-with-sex-tests-in-the-last-century

Anonymous said...

In the fourth and final lap, Crawford has pulled ahead of Salter by a head, but wait, Salter's second wind has kicked in and he's back in the lead...

Anonymous said...

Washington Post: "Ratings Soar for the Olympics!"
Gallup: "Olympics have the worst TV ratings of any summer Olympics recorded."
WaPo has become a caricature of itself.

Anonymous said...

7:05, so a person with male genetalia with chromosomes that match up with being a female should use the women’s restroom, notwithstanding having male parts? That’s what I hear when you say that “chromosomes” determine sex.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what lead to your confusion, nowhere in any of my post did I mention restroom visitation. My post have been about sexual determination for athletic events. You should keep to the subject, and quit trying to use straw man questions.

Anonymous said...

Just answer the question and stop deflecting, 11:33!

Anonymous said...

Jimmy Carter was simply seeking attention every time he picked up a brand new hammer and pretended to drive a nail. Same reason that for years he sat directly home plate at Atlanta Braves games, directly in camera shot of every pitch thrown.

Bubba Bob said...

7:05 So you're describing a person with "chromosomes that match up with being a female"...."notwithstanding having male parts".

So explain where those "male parts" came from, since a person with two X chromosomes would not have an sry (assume that's in italics") gene which is necessary for those "male parts" to develop several weeks into gestation.

Anonymous said...

Bubba Bob, it’s definitely possible to be born with and have two X chromosomes and also “male parts.”

If you don’t understand, then use Google. I’m not your teacher, and I have no obligation to educate you on matters that you could easily look up yourself.


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