The weeks before the 2002 Winter Olympics games in Salt Lake City, Utah seemed uneasy at best. An increase in patrol activity by local law enforcement was obvious and welcome as far as I was concerned.
News coverage leading up to the Olympics left much speculation if the games would truly be safe. I can remember feeling anxious and unsettled as I rode the bus from the Cottonwood Mall to the opening ceremony dress rehearsal. As I walked through the grid leading to Rice-Eccles Stadium I remember thinking something about herding cows.
Security was everywhere and getting into the stadium was quite the ordeal and very time consuming, but I was fine with the wait as long as it would keep us safe. Rational thought led me to believe that we were safe at a dress rehearsal, or so I hoped.
The rehearsal was a great experience, and by its end I started to wonder why I had been so anxious. I can even remember feeling some of that anxiety while watching the actual opening ceremony the next night, that is until I saw President George W. Bush sitting with our U.S.A. athletes.
Taken from Wikipedia:
"The opening ceremonies saw some signs of the aftermath of September 11, 2001. They included the flag that flew at Ground Zero, NYPD officer Danny Rodriguez singing "America the Beautiful," and honor guards of NYPD and FDNY members. During the opening ceremonies, just before the parade of nations, there was a segment honoring all Olympic Winter Games. The [2002] Olympics marked the first time an American president opened a Winter Olympic games held in the United States."
This has been a difficult post to write, due to the fact that I'm not exactly sure where to go or how to explain what I really want to say, so I'll just do the best I can at this moment and go for it.
When I saw President Bush sitting with the athletes my fear melted away. He seemed so self assured, and in my eyes so brave. It was a pivotal moment for me, as I believe it was for many of us in America. President Bush at this particular moment was the example of how we as Americans should be. We should be brave, we should not fear.
For me, the Olympic experience was all about the human spirit, and ended up having nothing to do with terrorism. I was held spellbound by Olympic coverage, and once it was all over, I remember thinking, "now what will I do?" It was easy to understand why Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson did not want to let go of the Olympic Flag when he passed it to the mayor of Torino, Italy.
For a wonderful, yet short moment in time the world came to Utah and it seemed that the Olympic Spirit would stay with us forever. We were Utahns, we were Americans, and we were also citizens of a world that seemed to be United.
Four years later our great country seems more divided than ever. Conservative messaging has tried to change the word liberal into something dirty while some so-called progressive liberal organizations don't seem to have any tolerance for conservative ideals. But lets be honest; real conservatives and liberals ideals are not being well represented by either side of the fence. Our soaring deficit cannot be deemed a conservative ideal. Believing that it should be our way or the highway is not very progressive or liberal. Maybe its time to re-examine what we truly stand for as Liberals or Conservatives and to again remember that the most important value is when we value each other. Maybe the lesson we should have learned from 9-11 is that we are all American's first.
I apologize for ra
mbling. I'm sorry that this post doesn't even come close to being what it should be. Even at my best (which happens only on rare occasions, if at all), I am a flawed person. But I do know this, I respect you, and I do believe that we can once again become united if we will stop focusing on our differences and look more for our similarities. All it takes is a little bravery, and the ability to understand that we are all really on the same team.
Many years ago there was a carpenter who left us with a most beautiful message. It is a message of value; it is a message or true love. Nowhere in his teachings have I found a message saying that we should judge one another. He did however say that we should love one another in the same way that he loved us. He gave us this love both liberally, and completely and held nothing back from us. Maybe that's why are country is so divided, do we truly love one another Do we even respect each other?
During my hike the day I had my vision of fear I also saw something waving in the wind that brought me great hope. It was the American Flag, the symbol of our union and of our nation. It is something that belongs to every single one of us. The Olympics helped to start the healing process after 9-11 because it returned the spirit of optimism to the America people and to the citizens of this world. One might ask where is that spirit today? I believe it does exist when we are brave enough to respect and value each other even when we have differing opinions.
I'm not sure if I can completely grasp what I have learned from the events of September 11, 2001. However, what I do know is this, if fear is ever the driving force in my life than I have allowed the terrorists to win, and I simply cannot live like that.
Life is too short to allow fear to be my guide.
News coverage leading up to the Olympics left much speculation if the games would truly be safe. I can remember feeling anxious and unsettled as I rode the bus from the Cottonwood Mall to the opening ceremony dress rehearsal. As I walked through the grid leading to Rice-Eccles Stadium I remember thinking something about herding cows.
Security was everywhere and getting into the stadium was quite the ordeal and very time consuming, but I was fine with the wait as long as it would keep us safe. Rational thought led me to believe that we were safe at a dress rehearsal, or so I hoped.
The rehearsal was a great experience, and by its end I started to wonder why I had been so anxious. I can even remember feeling some of that anxiety while watching the actual opening ceremony the next night, that is until I saw President George W. Bush sitting with our U.S.A. athletes.
Taken from Wikipedia:
"The opening ceremonies saw some signs of the aftermath of September 11, 2001. They included the flag that flew at Ground Zero, NYPD officer Danny Rodriguez singing "America the Beautiful," and honor guards of NYPD and FDNY members. During the opening ceremonies, just before the parade of nations, there was a segment honoring all Olympic Winter Games. The [2002] Olympics marked the first time an American president opened a Winter Olympic games held in the United States."
This has been a difficult post to write, due to the fact that I'm not exactly sure where to go or how to explain what I really want to say, so I'll just do the best I can at this moment and go for it.
When I saw President Bush sitting with the athletes my fear melted away. He seemed so self assured, and in my eyes so brave. It was a pivotal moment for me, as I believe it was for many of us in America. President Bush at this particular moment was the example of how we as Americans should be. We should be brave, we should not fear.
For me, the Olympic experience was all about the human spirit, and ended up having nothing to do with terrorism. I was held spellbound by Olympic coverage, and once it was all over, I remember thinking, "now what will I do?" It was easy to understand why Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson did not want to let go of the Olympic Flag when he passed it to the mayor of Torino, Italy.
For a wonderful, yet short moment in time the world came to Utah and it seemed that the Olympic Spirit would stay with us forever. We were Utahns, we were Americans, and we were also citizens of a world that seemed to be United.
Four years later our great country seems more divided than ever. Conservative messaging has tried to change the word liberal into something dirty while some so-called progressive liberal organizations don't seem to have any tolerance for conservative ideals. But lets be honest; real conservatives and liberals ideals are not being well represented by either side of the fence. Our soaring deficit cannot be deemed a conservative ideal. Believing that it should be our way or the highway is not very progressive or liberal. Maybe its time to re-examine what we truly stand for as Liberals or Conservatives and to again remember that the most important value is when we value each other. Maybe the lesson we should have learned from 9-11 is that we are all American's first.
I apologize for ra
mbling. I'm sorry that this post doesn't even come close to being what it should be. Even at my best (which happens only on rare occasions, if at all), I am a flawed person. But I do know this, I respect you, and I do believe that we can once again become united if we will stop focusing on our differences and look more for our similarities. All it takes is a little bravery, and the ability to understand that we are all really on the same team.Many years ago there was a carpenter who left us with a most beautiful message. It is a message of value; it is a message or true love. Nowhere in his teachings have I found a message saying that we should judge one another. He did however say that we should love one another in the same way that he loved us. He gave us this love both liberally, and completely and held nothing back from us. Maybe that's why are country is so divided, do we truly love one another Do we even respect each other?
During my hike the day I had my vision of fear I also saw something waving in the wind that brought me great hope. It was the American Flag, the symbol of our union and of our nation. It is something that belongs to every single one of us. The Olympics helped to start the healing process after 9-11 because it returned the spirit of optimism to the America people and to the citizens of this world. One might ask where is that spirit today? I believe it does exist when we are brave enough to respect and value each other even when we have differing opinions.
I'm not sure if I can completely grasp what I have learned from the events of September 11, 2001. However, what I do know is this, if fear is ever the driving force in my life than I have allowed the terrorists to win, and I simply cannot live like that.
Life is too short to allow fear to be my guide.
1 comment:
Great post. Thank you.
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