Every four years, my faith in humanity gets its booster shot when the Olympic games begin. It's true what they say, in that time, we put aside what separates us, and focus on how we are the same. Don't get me wrong, I know that politics is often involved, witness Munich in 1972. But what we've got, essentially, is young people from all over the world, giving it their athletic all in front of the entire world. It's a mammoth undertaking to get to the Olympics, no matter what, and an indescribable triumph, I'm sure, to win gold. The Olympics should teach us all the value of determination, and unity, and what it means to genuinely triumph, no matter what your endeavor. I remember like it was yesterday, the fire in sprinter Micheal Johnson's eyes as he sought to become the fastest man on earth. And aside from being a, well, mostly proud American, I will also be watching with interest the efforts of the Croatians (assuming they fielded a team, I'm missing the parade of athletes right now,) and the South Koreans; what can I say, some things in my life will never die in all their own ways. To all the Olympic athletes, although none of them have probably ever seen my blog, or ever will, Godspeed none the less. You are the fire in my fire, in a way, and probably the same to a lot of people.
As for my pride in America, maybe that's just Detroit; if you've been following the exploits (and truly they should be labeled as exploits, with the worst possible meaning attached,) of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, you already know that Detroit's "Hip-hop mayor" is now under FBI scrutiny, spent last night in a jail cell, and is now sporting an electronic tether for a bond violation stemming from earlier issues. What bothers me about all that is that kids in Detroit may perceive being fitted with an electronic tether as a status symbol; it's not far from the mind of some teens that, "if the mayor has one, they MUST be cool!" Particularly in Detroit.
Nothing else has really changed that much. I called my sub agency, and they said subs will be re-activated starting the week of August 15th. It cannot begin soon enough. Meantime, I'll be watching the Olympics; I think I need them this year.