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Olympic Opening Ceremonies
an article by Charlie McNally
The opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens this past week was thankfully lacking in any violent surprises.
The Olympics have long been an international event where good-will and
solidarity seemingly trump political differences and the global
community truly comes together. By this standard, these games got off
to a good start. The teams came in to a JUST completed Olympic stadium
still smelling of wet paint, and the only fireworks of the evening were
planned and included the famous lighting of the Olympic torch.
Most
reports from the ceremonies agree that the crowd gave the loudest
ovations to the Olympic teams whose countries have recently been
invaded by the United States. Our aggressive foreign policy, however,
did not seem to affect the reception given to the United States team
when they entered the stadium. Unlike our Middle Eastern ally Israel,
who was "met with mostly silence," the United States "received an
enthusiastic greeting when they entered the stadium" as reported by the
San Francisco Chronicle, "putting them in the same league,
ovation-wise, as Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and nearby Cyprus." This
reaction is surprising in light of the declining global attitudes
towards the United States and its policy. In the most recent Global
Attitudes Project data, released in March, 2004, the average
favorability rating across European countries England, France, Germany,
and Russia was under 50%. The survey can be found at http://people-press.org/pgap
So
what is this moment telling us about global opinion? Are people
intelligent enough to separate the actions of our government from the
sentiments of our people? Do they believe, like many of us, that we do
not currently have an elected president? Are they trying to send a
message that although relations are strained, they are not irreparable?
Or is it simply a manifestation of the love/hate relationship so many
foreigners feel towards America, revering our culture yet detesting our
policies. The opening ceremonies provided some interesting questions
for people committed to promoting a culture of peace. The answers to
these questions may prove important in the coming years to rediscover
solidarity and understanding with our allies across the Atlantic.
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DISCUSSION
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Is America Hated in Europe?
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OTHER THEMES
LATEST READER COMMENT:
I
would like to share with you the following commentary that is
circulating on the Internet in Europe (sent to me from a Muslim friend
in France). I fear that while this would have only negative
impact in the United States, it will be heard with sympathy by many
Europeans:
From "Ghazwan" <ghazwan_almukhtar@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 20:41:30 +0400
Bill O' Reilly, leading news commentator on Fox TV Said:
"I
don't have any respect by and large for the Iraqi people at all I
have no respect for them I think that they're a prehistoric group
that is - yeah, there's excuses. Sure, they're terrorized, they've
never known freedom, all of that. There's excuses, I understand, but I
don't have to respect them because you know when you have Americans
dying trying to, you know institute some kind of democracy there, and
two percent of the people appreciate it, you know, it's time to -
time to wise up. The big lesson is that we cannot intervene using
ground troops in the Muslim world ever again. What we can do, is
bomb the living daylights out of them, just like we did in the Balkans,
Bomb the living daylights out of them.. . ...more.
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