But I have been inspired by the fans who attend, and the spirit of the
athletes that continue to compete, in the face of a fundamentally insecure
environment, and an insecure world. It's given me insight into what we mean
when we say "the Olympic Spirit."
There has been a lot of talk about the Olympic Spirit here, since the
bombing. That this is about our best, or Our best, humanity's best, put
forward on the field of competitive play.
But there's a dimension of the heart in all this. That our hearts can swell
with pride, not merely when our own countrymen excel or win, but when
anyone, from anywhere, with a strange face and an unfamiliar language, puts
forth the best that We have to offer. And that we can take that pride and
inspiriation into a world We are knitting together, as We bring our
neighbors in the world closer.
This is an important part of how We become neighbors. The networks, the
computers, the satellites, the technology all allow us to connect,
communicate, and allow us to establish new kinds of community. But the
Olympic Spirit, the pride in human achievement, allows us to identify with
Us, the Us we find ourselves working and living closer and closer to on a
day-to-day basis. As We All become neighbors materially, We must also
become neighbors spiritually as well.
There are those who are uncomfortable with all this, because of xenophobia
or racism. That's why there is terrorism. That's why someone would bomb
the Olympics.
We must not merely defeat hatred on the battlefield that it makes this
world. We must defeat it in our own hearts, in our own communities, and in
Our community. We must win a spiritual victory. All the technology,
connection, communication, and global business will be a hollow achievement
without a corresponding spiritual revolution, bringing us together, even in
our differences and disagreements.
CC: This is an open letter, copied to various mailing lists and individuals,
including:
the FutureCulture mailing list
the CYBERMIND mailing list
the communitarians mailing list
Kim Albee and Kate Pabst
Audrie Krause
Lawrence Berick
Bob Pendleton
Justine Lera
Venson Kuchipudi
Bert Speelpenning
I grant permission to anyone to copy it in whole or in part
--John Stoner
--Internet Explorations
--jstoner@interaccess.com
--http://www.interaccess.com/explore/
--personal page: http://www.interaccess.com/explore/stoner