2008 Beijing Olympics revisited

My views on China hosting the 2008 Olympics are pretty clear: I don't think they should have gotten them. However this article in the NY Times gave me some perspective.

I knew that the Chines suffered from some kind of complex when it came to the rest of the world: after all, we (and by "we" I mean the international community) use China as our poster child for "Everything Gone Wrong" in a nation.

My blog post listing just a few of the technical difficulties facing the Olympics this year highlights some of criticism being leveled at China. And in reading todays article, I'll admit, I was knocked a few pegs off my superior ladder.

That being said, I have to answer the authors rhetorical question:

"Before we put China on trial, though, we should ask a question about the other part of the argument: how good are the Olympics, again, exactly?"

Yes, the Olympics has a history of cheating, doping, lies, etc., and the nations hosting them have had all kinds of skeletons in their closets. But, as with all things, should we not aim to live and be the ideal of the Olympics? Yes, we will fail, but the goal is how close can we come.

Although this article provided me some needed insight, I still think, that given the unspoken goal(s) of the Olympics, China was not the best location for the 2008 Olympics.