The London Telegraph reports: Fear of a hostile reaction has led US officials to warn its participants in the Games against overtly patriotic displays.
The spectacle of victorious athletes grabbing a national flag and parading it around the stadium is a familiar part of international sporting competition, but US Olympic officials have ordered their 550-strong team to exercise restraint and avoid any jingoistic behaviour. [...]Despite the extra burden being placed on American athletes, officials still predict a US medal haul of more than 100, and have made it their target to finish top of the medals table. The irony is that finishing the Games as the most powerful nation is unlikely to endear them to the rest of the world.
And therein lies the problem: We shouldn't be trying to endear ourselves to those who hate us no matter what we do.
This story came via TIA Daily, an e-mail based, daily news analysis published by Robert Tracinski. (They have a 30-day trial offer for the service that we very highly recommend.) Tracinski writes regarding the article:
In a shocking story, Olympic officials discourage displays of patriotism by American athletes, so as not to "offend" the Europeans. Why not just ask them not to win, so that Europeans can be spared the embarrassment of playing our national anthem?Posted by Forkum at May 17, 2004 10:31 PM
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