The Original Intent of the Olympic Games: Peace Through Athletic Competition
The Ancient Olympic Games began as a religious festival to honor the gods. During this time, any ongoing war stopped, and fighting was not permitted from 7 days before the Games until 7 days after their completion. At that time, the festival was concentrated entirely within the Greek culture, so international peace was most likely not a concern or a factor in the Games’ creation.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The modern Olympics were created with a similar pacifist ideal in mind. Could Coubertin end war, or at least create a temporary peaceful haven where athletes could ignore bloodshed and compete peacefully against each other?
The record shows that Coubertin’s grand experiment hasn’t finished its work (at least, not yet). Because of the World War conflicts, the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games were not held. Many countries also boycotted the 1980 and 1984 Games; these were held at the height of the Cold War. However, there are a number of positive steps that have allowed the Olympic Games to reflect a professional and peacefully competitive environment. The 2008 Beijing Games went off in grand style in a nation that many have less than friendly diplomatic relations with. Although singular acts of violence do occur, open war has yet to occur in the midst of an Olympic Games. The devastating Munich Olympic crisis was the result of the terrorist actions of a few (as Oregon and USATF Coach Bill Bowerman [played by Donald Sutherland] lamented in popular running movie Without Limits), not the warring designs of a nation.
The intent of the modern Olympic Games is to instill a dream in our population and our youth. The dream is that we can find a world without war. The Olympic path to that dream is to harness our aggression and use it to achieve something wholly greater and more pure and honorable than bloodshed. However impossible this dream is, each new person that believes it is one that may be willing to put down a rifle and pick up a relay baton.
It may be naïve to expect that nations will stop war and conflict with each other. It may be naïve to expect that extra-national identities like terrorist groups will stop unsettling and inciting populations. It is certainly naïve to expect that nations are going to put away weapons of war and seal up their armies back into Pandora’s Box. It is, however, inherently useful to promote the ideals of an international competition that seeks to dissolve boundaries and promote brotherhood between peoples with no common ground. It is only in athletic events like the 100 meters, the shot put, the 5000 meter, and other events can you pour in all your hatred and every bad feeling you ever had. It is also only in these events that you can discover that such emotions aren’t useful to you.
I’ve become a believer in the Olympic dream (and a seeker of participation in the Games as well), and it has enabled me to build friendships that I never thought could be possible. Perhaps, if we can share this dream and convince others of the validity of this vision, then we can spread a positive attitude with one handshake or smile at a time.
The Ancient Olympic Games began as a religious festival to honor the gods. During this time, any ongoing war stopped, and fighting was not permitted from 7 days before the Games until 7 days after their completion. At that time, the festival was concentrated entirely within the Greek culture, so international peace was most likely not a concern or a factor in the Games’ creation.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The modern Olympics were created with a similar pacifist ideal in mind. Could Coubertin end war, or at least create a temporary peaceful haven where athletes could ignore bloodshed and compete peacefully against each other?
The record shows that Coubertin’s grand experiment hasn’t finished its work (at least, not yet). Because of the World War conflicts, the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games were not held. Many countries also boycotted the 1980 and 1984 Games; these were held at the height of the Cold War. However, there are a number of positive steps that have allowed the Olympic Games to reflect a professional and peacefully competitive environment. The 2008 Beijing Games went off in grand style in a nation that many have less than friendly diplomatic relations with. Although singular acts of violence do occur, open war has yet to occur in the midst of an Olympic Games. The devastating Munich Olympic crisis was the result of the terrorist actions of a few (as Oregon and USATF Coach Bill Bowerman [played by Donald Sutherland] lamented in popular running movie Without Limits), not the warring designs of a nation.
The intent of the modern Olympic Games is to instill a dream in our population and our youth. The dream is that we can find a world without war. The Olympic path to that dream is to harness our aggression and use it to achieve something wholly greater and more pure and honorable than bloodshed. However impossible this dream is, each new person that believes it is one that may be willing to put down a rifle and pick up a relay baton.
It may be naïve to expect that nations will stop war and conflict with each other. It may be naïve to expect that extra-national identities like terrorist groups will stop unsettling and inciting populations. It is certainly naïve to expect that nations are going to put away weapons of war and seal up their armies back into Pandora’s Box. It is, however, inherently useful to promote the ideals of an international competition that seeks to dissolve boundaries and promote brotherhood between peoples with no common ground. It is only in athletic events like the 100 meters, the shot put, the 5000 meter, and other events can you pour in all your hatred and every bad feeling you ever had. It is also only in these events that you can discover that such emotions aren’t useful to you.
I’ve become a believer in the Olympic dream (and a seeker of participation in the Games as well), and it has enabled me to build friendships that I never thought could be possible. Perhaps, if we can share this dream and convince others of the validity of this vision, then we can spread a positive attitude with one handshake or smile at a time.
