With the hullabaloo over Chinese rights violations, the Beijing Olympics get overshadowed a tad bit. I'd say this is a shame, but it would be a blatant lie. Not to douse the aspirations of sports fanatics, but civil upheaval happens to be slightly higher on my list of priorities than the 100-meter dash, which actually is located between bubblegum machines and dying of Fatal Familial Insomnia (which is in fact a real malady). Oddly enough, many people disagree with my priorities. Sadly, there are plenty of idiots running around declaring that everyone should boycott the Olympics — as if this would do a damn thing.
At this point I should probably make it clear I don't hate the Olympics; I just don't like them either. This of course is a distinction only Chuck Klosterman, formerly of Spin Magazine, seems to understand. I don't see a point to them. The vast majority of the American populace doesn't care about archery and shot-putting on odd-numbered years. The real question then is, "Why do we care about them during the Olympics?" The only theory I've got is misplaced patriotism.
Seriously, most of the viewers will be supporting the home team because they are in fact the home team. I find this profoundly messed up, which might make me slightly disloyal, but I generally support someone for qualities I think are important. For the record, the country where someone files his or her taxes is not an important quality. Being American does not make you a superior athlete, an exemplar sportsman or even a decent person; it just makes you American. Congratulations to you, resident of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and/ or U.S. Virgin Islands (I'm not entirely sure whether Midway is still under the American flag).
After this, I really do sound as if I am hostile towards the Olympics. I repeat: I have nothing against them, or anyone who watches them for that matter. There are some exceptions of course. For example, if you steal a TV to watch them, I will be judging you — and finding you wanting of some innate human characteristic (you know who you are).
This aside, there are some problems with this superfluous loyalty (and yes, I do mean superfluous). American patriotism is not limited to sports. It’s a mentality that has permeated most of the social sphere. It's the concept of us versus them, the Neo-Con enemy theory. American social structure dictates that there must be an outside force to maintain cohesion among the citizenry, and without the aforementioned enemy, there is little to keep a farmer in Iowa and film executive in Los Angeles together. This all makes sense; I understand the theory, but I just find it bizarrely xenophobic.
I suppose I am meant to have an opinion on this, but I don't. Yeah, I don't particularly like it, but I'm not sure how you can replace it. The human animal is too fragile to live without just such a manipulation. To quote Chuck Klosterman, "My main fear is that the Saudi Arabian relay team will steal the gold in the 400-meter relay and — moments before the event is rebroadcast in prime time — (Bob) Costas will be unable to resist telling us that the terrorists have already won."
