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— America only loses in Obama Olympics
Gold medals redistributed. New world records disavowed. Long hours of training and preparation discredited. In fact, athletes themselves don’t qualify for participation through their own efforts, but instead are chosen by the preferences of others under the guise of “fairness.” These are just some of the effects of an Obama Olympics.
Imagine spending years of your life training arduous and grueling hours with the singular purpose of being able to perform at the highest levels of competition, oftentimes to the detriment of other facets of your life and forgoing many other opportunities, subsequently to be told that your accomplishments were really only the result of others – like those who built the pool, track or training facility in which you trained, or those who erected the bridge you crossed to get to the gym at 3 o’clock in the morning year after year, or those who laid the asphalt for the road you traversed before spending 10 or 11 or more hours a day training for your “overnight” success. Imagine attaining your victory and being awarded the gold medal, only to have it redistributed to others because someone had a different view of competitive fairness. Imagine performing at a level never before achieved and setting a new world record only to have someone disavow your accomplishment because others are not identically situated – in mind, body or soul.
Imagine having the will to do whatever it took to succeed only to have “competitive” participation determined by governing body preference, not individual performance. These are just some of the effects of an Obama Olympics.
Yes, stadiums must be built and coaches must coach, but it is the athlete who must perform! In fact, most athletes never attain great glory; most training is never awarded a gold medal; most world records never last; and yes, most success entails a portion of divine luck. Why is it then that these athletes work so long and hard – with the risk of failure far greater than the reward of success? It is their passion, drive and determination that sets them apart from all others – win or lose … mostly lose! And still they compete!
When doubt is allowed to creep into the minds of the American competitive spirit – the result is an Obama Olympics! When America’s perceived economic or social position atop the medal podium is not assured, when America’s reign as the world’s premier military superpower is uncertain, and maybe most troubling of all, when one American generation questions its ability to hand a better “life baton” to its children – when these doubts are allowed to be exploited, the result is an Obama Olympics.
America, you were never guaranteed success – failure was always a risk – from the days of George Washington to Henry Ford to Michael Phelps! The difference today is you have a coach exploiting your doubts – a coach who wants you to believe that it is his efforts, not yours, that will lead to your triumph.
If America succumbs to this self-doubt and loathing, it is not a gold medal or a guarantee to be standing atop the world’s medal podium that will be lost – no, what is being exploited from America today is its spirit, its competitive soul and belief in itself, the ability to provide hope to a world of humanity, that against all odds, individuals have unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness!
America, you aren’t in need of a self-proclaimed winner, you are in need of a champion and a renewed mutual pledge to your Lives, your Fortunes, and your sacred Honor! God Bless America!
Matt W. Reedy, Kokomo
Kokomo Tribune; Kokomo, Indiana; Letter to the Editor: Aug. 8, 2012
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