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Pyeong Chang
Feb. 10th, 2018 05:45 pmIn the midst of all the other stuff happening, we have an Olympics going on! It's the first of three consecutive Olympics that will be held on the continent of Asia, with the Summer games of 2020 scheduled for Tokyo and the next Winter Games in 2022 to be held in Beijing, the first city to ever host both the Summer and Winter Games.
If there is any good that has come from the Trump presidency, it's that the North and South Koreans are at least behaving in a civil manner toward one another. I don't mean to say that Trump created this, because in a very real sense he did not. But because of his not so veiled threats about a war with North Korea, a war that, if it became nuclear, would have a severe impact on South Korea, they have started talking.
The result was that athletes from both North and South Korea entered the stadium together, a show of solidarity, friendship and trust... all elements that are championed by this event.
Mike Pence showed up and waved at the US Olympians, then hopped a plane back home. That seems rather typical of this administration... come for the photo op, leave before anything happens.
If nothing else, the Olympics serves as a reminder that we do have more in common with each other than we may want to admit. That we can behave appropriately towards people from other countries, even as we are in competition with them. That we may not do things the same way, but determining which way is "better" is a futile exercise designed only to harm.
This is where sports can be an important part of life for all of us, even those that don't care about sports.
If there is any good that has come from the Trump presidency, it's that the North and South Koreans are at least behaving in a civil manner toward one another. I don't mean to say that Trump created this, because in a very real sense he did not. But because of his not so veiled threats about a war with North Korea, a war that, if it became nuclear, would have a severe impact on South Korea, they have started talking.
The result was that athletes from both North and South Korea entered the stadium together, a show of solidarity, friendship and trust... all elements that are championed by this event.
Mike Pence showed up and waved at the US Olympians, then hopped a plane back home. That seems rather typical of this administration... come for the photo op, leave before anything happens.
If nothing else, the Olympics serves as a reminder that we do have more in common with each other than we may want to admit. That we can behave appropriately towards people from other countries, even as we are in competition with them. That we may not do things the same way, but determining which way is "better" is a futile exercise designed only to harm.
This is where sports can be an important part of life for all of us, even those that don't care about sports.
