In the purest sense, the concept of the Olympic games has the potential to be a truly beautiful thing – bringing together world-class athletes from across the Earth to compete in a variety of games that enable them to showcase their skills, and to interact with individuals from numerous other cultures. In theory, they provide a chance for the athletes to learn first-hand that “people are people,” wherever they are from, and whatever their cultural practices and beliefs may be.
They also offer the opportunity for the citizens of the participating nations to view the events, and witness the camaraderie that often develops among the athletes from the nations involved. This suggests, then, that fellowship among citizens of all countries is just as possible, simply because the conflicts in our world generally aren’t between the peoples themselves. Instead, they are usually instigated (and maintained) by power-hungry politicians and military leaders, or by so-called religious leaders who cannot accept the existence of alternative ideologies.
Sadly, while the Olympics have the potential to bring the world together, the games typically have an opposite effect. Why? Because the populations in the various countries usually get manipulated by their governments and a complicit mainstream media into identifying the athletes as directly representing them in some sense (i.e., if our team does well, then it says something positive about me because I live here). The following passage from the late Stuart Wilde’s book “Whispering Winds of Change” speaks to this:
“Why are millions of people ‘round the world, who may normally have no interest in sport, mesmerized by the Olympic games? It’s because the vestiges of the old tribal mind, which has grown to become a national mind, is bolstered by even the slightest success. So, a bronze medal in Ping Pong creates a hero in some places, and makes the people of that nation feel better about themselves. The remnants of the tribal mind are still very present.
If your mind is global, you may watch the table tennis for the pleasure of it, but you wouldn’t care much who won or lost. You certainly wouldn’t go potty if a man or woman you have never met – who happens to have the citizenship as you – does well…
The international fervor over sporting events endorses the national ego, bolstering the illusion that the people of one country are special and separate from others. We won. The foreigners lost. We’re better…By pumping national pride, the government tethers people inside the national mindset, where it can sell them on the idea that whatever the government says is good for the country must also be good for the individual.”
So, what is at its core a wonderful concept that could bring the people of the world closer together, gets hijacked by governments as yet another propaganda tool to sell the alleged “special-ness” of their individual country. And, once you see this, you can’t un-see it.
In light of the above, here’s a suggestion – if you’re planning to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, how about doing so merely for the pleasure of seeing top-notch athletes putting all of their hearts, bodies, and souls into the games?
Don’t get sucked into the “my country is better because our athletes were awarded more medals” narrative, because it’s complete nonsense. Also, ignore the medal count propaganda in its entirety. The performance of the participants has nothing to do with the superiority of their cultures, but speaks only to their individual skills, level of training, personal motivation, and determination.
