Olympics is more politics than sport

Those who contend the Olympics are about athletic sport and not politics don't want to look beyond the pageantry and ruin the magic, much like a child who will "believe" in the tooth fairy as long as she leaves money.

The $300 million opening ceremony rivaled anything Disney or Cirque de Soleil could produce and will long be remembered as much for its artistry as for the message it sent the world - "the times they are a changing."

Combining a spectacular display of creativity and wealth with a not so subtle show of power, China celebrated its achievements and announced its status as a global power with which to be reckoned.

Goose-stepping soldiers carrying the Olympic flag were reminiscent of the Nazis who used the 1936 Berlin Olympics for their propaganda campaign.

The fact that China is hosting the Olympics is proof that politics takes precedence over sport.

World leaders intimidated by China's growing economic and military might ignored its human rights violations despite their initial protests.

The 1972 Munich games, however, represent the worst in Olympic history as the world's athletes, including our own, "played on" after Palestinian terrorists massacred 11 Israeli wrestlers.

I do not mean to diminish the many proud moments in Olympic history, nor the athletes whose achievements and conduct have made them legends.

Neither am I advocating an end to the Olympics; only that we see it for what it is - a dysfunctional family pretending to get along for the sake of the children.

Once we recognize this, we can commit to making it all that it can and should be - a competition, as described in the Olympic oath, "in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."

Our athletes and the world deserve nothing less.

Sheryl Jedlinski

Palatine