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August 4, 2012
Australia is doing rather badly in the London 2012 Olympics and the criticism of the performance in the media intensifies. There is not enough success to allow for triumphalism about the heroes and rubbing defeat in the face of Australia's national villains. Or ruthlessly trample them into the ground.
Australia's heroes should ensure that Australia is one of the top nations rather than slowly sinking down the medal ladder. Maybe the fusion between phony nationalism and sport can be disconnected from the crisis of national identity due to Australians no longer feeling united as a nation.
The Olympics have become an over-hyped carnival of advertising (by corporations who make people fat and sick), brand police, broadcast rights restrictions and a giant bureaucracy. Given the corporatisation of the games, are the modern Olympics akin to the religious rituals of old that created a community, fostered a loyalty and love of that community, and expressed the spirit of the nation?
The Olympic organizers repeatedly make the point that the Games wouldn't exist without corporate dollars yet these cover about about 50% of the cost of the games. The state funds the rest of the spectacle and the public have to wear the cost of disrupted lives and the post-Olympic's stranded stadiums that are unused and become urban ruins.
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Many in the media are saying that second best is not good enough. Gold is required not silver. Some of the athletes and their coaching staff have declared the winning of anything but gold a failure. They've made winning gold the benchmark. So silver represents failure.