The fact that these 2008 Olympic Games have been some of the most successful, at least as far as ratings go, since 1976 is proof that the American people are hungry to believe again. They are hungry to believe in the American dream. They are hungry to believe that we are the greatest nation in the world. That we are the beacon of light in the ever present darkness.
If Americans are being honest with themselves, they know that new car smell we used to walk around the world with has been supplanted with the putrid smell of a 1967 Thunderbird, whose owner is a habitual smoker, drinks too much, and occasional uses his car as a toilet. The world has viewed us for far too long as Imperialists who wants to conquer the globe with McDonald’s, Nike, and Capitalism. But we are so much more than that.
The Olympics is our chance to asseverate to the world that we wish to lead by example, and that our athletes, born into a free society, can reach for the stars and touch them. Grace and dignity seems to be more commonplace during these Olympics than in many of the years past, which could not have come at a better time in U.S. history.
But what is most important is the proof that there are still heroes in America. There are people within our midst that strive for the impossible dream of being the absolute best in the world and accomplish it. Although the U.S. makes mistakes (please see Iraq, Vietnam, New Coke, Steve Guttenberg), we eventually expiate our sins by doing something right. The Beijing Olympics seems like a good place to start.
