At least for two years until the summer Olympics and it starts all over again. I don't know why the Olympics rub me the wrong way, but they sure do. Somewhere in the deepest heart of Africa is a big termite mound which holds more interest to me than do the entire Olympic proceedings.
I'm sick of all the hype preceding and during the games. I'm tired of the "get to know your athletes" commercials. I'm disgusted by the amount of money that gets dropped into the whole thing. But, what frosts my hide most is probably the sudden surge of "patriotism" when Canada wins. Case in point, today's men's hockey game between the US and Canada. Whoopty-frikkin-doo. I've heard and read so many comments from people who say they are so proud to be Canadian. Really?? Just because some professional athletes (only two of which actually play in Canada) - who get paid obscene amounts to skate around and hit each other - get together and win a game, and now you're a proud Canadian.
You want to know why I'm proud to be Canadian? You weren't going to ask, but I'll tell you anyway.
1. Fredrick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin for the treatment of diabetes. Something that actually has an impact on real life.
2. David Hubel and the mapping of the visual cortex in the brain.
3. Willard Boyle developed CCD's (Charged Coupling Device). Huh? These are the little babies which convert light into digital information. Most commonly used in digital cameras, camcorders, and are also used in telescopes.
4. Aug 20, 2009. The world's first simulation-based brain surgery performed in Halifax. Doctor's took an MRI of a patient's brain and were able to rehearse the removal of a tumor before actually operating. Now, complex neurosurgical procedures can be practiced and tailored to specific patients.
Accomplishments like that make me proud to be Canadian, not a bunch of winter sports. Who cares how fast someone can skate, or ski, or ride head-first on a sled down a huge ice track? Want to make an impact with the olympics? Cancel them and put all the money which would've been spent into something useful like cancer research, housing projects for the homeless, solutions to help end hunger, disaster relief efforts...
At least then there'd be something good to watch on TV.
I'm sick of all the hype preceding and during the games. I'm tired of the "get to know your athletes" commercials. I'm disgusted by the amount of money that gets dropped into the whole thing. But, what frosts my hide most is probably the sudden surge of "patriotism" when Canada wins. Case in point, today's men's hockey game between the US and Canada. Whoopty-frikkin-doo. I've heard and read so many comments from people who say they are so proud to be Canadian. Really?? Just because some professional athletes (only two of which actually play in Canada) - who get paid obscene amounts to skate around and hit each other - get together and win a game, and now you're a proud Canadian.
You want to know why I'm proud to be Canadian? You weren't going to ask, but I'll tell you anyway.
1. Fredrick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin for the treatment of diabetes. Something that actually has an impact on real life.
2. David Hubel and the mapping of the visual cortex in the brain.
3. Willard Boyle developed CCD's (Charged Coupling Device). Huh? These are the little babies which convert light into digital information. Most commonly used in digital cameras, camcorders, and are also used in telescopes.
4. Aug 20, 2009. The world's first simulation-based brain surgery performed in Halifax. Doctor's took an MRI of a patient's brain and were able to rehearse the removal of a tumor before actually operating. Now, complex neurosurgical procedures can be practiced and tailored to specific patients.
Accomplishments like that make me proud to be Canadian, not a bunch of winter sports. Who cares how fast someone can skate, or ski, or ride head-first on a sled down a huge ice track? Want to make an impact with the olympics? Cancel them and put all the money which would've been spent into something useful like cancer research, housing projects for the homeless, solutions to help end hunger, disaster relief efforts...
At least then there'd be something good to watch on TV.
1 comment:
I am also very proud to be a Canadian other than during the Olympics. I'm generally not a big sports fan, but for some reason I take a lot of it in during the Olympics.
I do enjoy the patriotism shown during the games. This year was special because we had it at home. I can remember the Olympics in Calgary, where we did not win any gold medals, but the patriotism was still alive. I think it's about welcoming the world into our home. Then, we start getting a little embarrassed that we don't usually show a great deal of national pride.
The scientific accomplishments you listed are really important (I'm surprised you didn't mention the Blackberry), but I think it's good to recognize people's accomplishments in all areas. Sometimes we only see people recognized for things that don't see very important, like movie stars, "musicians" and professional athletes. I think the recognition of Olympic athletes is good because it inspires kids to try to do those things that look so cool. They want to give it a try - they are active and might find something they enjoy. The same with listening to music or looking at paintings or realizing tricorders aren't real and taking a stab at inventing one.
One of my peeves about the Olympics, though, is that I believe it should be amateur athletes, not people who are already making millions of dollars in their sport up against people who are trying to figure out how to make time to train when they have to have a full-time real job to eat and pay rent and buy their equipment and everything else necessary to become their best at their sport.
Let's be proud to be Canadian all the time - not just during the Olympics, but not excluding them either.
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