"Sporting spirit." - Marco M.

Sporting spirit

The Olympics, even more than any other sporting event, should be a celebration of sporting values. These values should transcend wars and fads of the moment. They should be a celebration of virtues (a word that derives from "virtus" or virility) or courage, pride, a sense of belonging, beauty and honor, which net of healthy competitiveness, should concern the winners as well as the losers.

Personally, I don't expect anything from the current Olympics. They are mere commodification and will follow the trend of the society in which we live. I don't feel represented by the athletes who compete under the flag of "Italy" just as the grotesque inaugural ceremony remains the perfect photograph of current society, that is, the exaltation of the ugly and the total absence of any value. I also emphasize that one of the most important nations, and not only at a sporting level, has been ousted from team competitions and its athletes forced to compete without a flag just to underline who the "masters" are.

How to act in the face of all this? Each of us can do our best to relive the Olympic spirit in our own little world. Let the flame still burn in one's heart and take advantage of the difficulties in which we find ourselves living to exalt with even more vigor what are the basic virtues not only of sport but of every non-decadent society. 

m.m.