Shared with permission from Streams of Justice:
The
Olympic Games constitute a key mechanism among a whole array of
political and economic strategies for shaping our desires and leading
us along in the relentless pursuit of comfort, security and power. It
is a spectacular demonstration of the triumph of capitalism with its
imperatives of competition and consumption, and the reaffirmation of
state power in guaranteeing public order and security, all wrapped in
the mesmerizing distraction of sport and entertainment. It celebrates
the supremacy of corporate and state power under the guise of a benign
athletic event of global cooperation. It is a remarkably effective tool
for deepening our ideological entrapment in a system of power that is
the antithesis of the kingdom of God announced by Jesus and the way of
the cross. In this sense, the Olympics are analogous to the what the
devil offered Jesus in the wilderness.
While there are no doubt many reasons for critical opposition to the Olympics, here are five that warrant careful consideration…
Click here for a pdf file of the complete presentation.
Dave then went on to juxtapose the Olympics against Jesus and the Wilderness Temptations.
Click here for a pdf file of the text (Matthew 4:1-11)
Click here for a pdf file of Scriptural Reflections
Thank you Dave for articulating the churning in my stomach whenever I hear about ‘2010’. You raise excellent points describing the much larger and more real issues that come hand in hand with the Olympic movement. It has bothered me from day one that an event made by and for the wealthy is funded by public money from a majority of people who will not be able to afford even one ticket, but who fund a party for the rich. When I read about the 2 million dollars ear marked to wine and dine foreign dignitaries it made me want to simply show up and demand a plate of the fine food…after all didn’t my tax dollars pay for it? Where is my invitation as a ‘sponsor’?
The sheer waste of government funds derived from our taxes on the Games is shameful given the growing crisis of poverty not only in BC but across the country. If the Olympics were truly a celebration of the human spirit then the IOC ought to require that host cities have actually dealt with their poverty issues before awarding games to them. They should require that blatant issues of injustice and violation of human rights be genuinely dealt with and eliminated. Of course, this would mean the end of the Olympics. Instead, as you point out, the IOC provides an excuse to the corporate and wealthy elite to bring out the big broom and sweep the issues under the rug. If the wealthy want to have a party they should pay for it without public funds and the public should reap the rewards from them…in light of the devastation they have caused it seems the least they could do.
Sincerely, and perhaps a little emotional,
Eric H Janzen.