Posted 1:38 PM by Charles Cameron

The Olympics are upon us...

And as controversial as ever.

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My take on transforming the Games...

I see sports in general and the Olympics in particular as potential alternatives to war.

I'd change the Olympics to bring them as close to war as possible while remaining compatible with full mutual dojo-style respect.

I'd pit individual against individual a thousand ways and army against army a handful, use mountainous regions, deserts and undersea for the big set pieces, allow enhancements (night vision goggles or whatever) if those wishing them provide them in equal measure to all teams, and in general try to vent and honor as much testosterone as possible with fatalities in the low hundreds per annum (and not less than forty, either), and teams could compete in the name of any grouping they chose.

Ahem, I said:

With full mutual dojo-style respect,

... which I understand as naturally inclined towards conflict resolution and ppeacemaking:

The Japanese word BUDO consists of two characters. Although usually translated as "martial", the original components of the character BU have the meaning "to stop clashing weapons," with a definite connotation of restoring peace. BU may also be translated as "valorous action", "courageous living," and "commitment to justice." DO is TAO, "the Way to truth," "the Path to liberation." The two concepts merge as BUDO, "the Way of brave and enlightened activity."

John Stevens, Budo Secrets - Teachings of the Martial Arts Masters

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That's what they call a trial balloon, or a thought experiment, perhaps -- don't take it too seriously, okay? Just a little something to stir fresh thinking as the Games begin...

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My background on this...

...comes from recently stumbling across the personal website of the Greek Foreign Minister, where I found a remarkable speech from which these sample paras are drawn:

It is a story that comes from ancient Greece and from the times when the Olympics were created. Approximately 3,000 years ago, in the Peloponnese - a region of Greece which was divided among several cities – states that fought each other almost continuously.

One day, the King of one of these warring states, Iphitos Elis, his name was of the region of Ilia in today’s terminology, asked the oracle of Delphi – that is where people used to go for their think tanks, to get their consulting work done – how will we end this cycle of violence. And the oracle said, if it was the king, that they should organize an athletic and cultural festival every fourth summer. And during this festival, there should be declared a sacred haven of peace. And while these games were being held, all hostilities among all states should cease. Warriors should lay down their shields and weapons outside the stadium walls. All states should declare truce or in Greek «Ekecheiria», which has become the Olympic Truce.

Now, the King Iphitos, a wise king, accepted the oracle’s suggestion. He made peace with his enemy states of Sparta and Pissa and they actually signed an agreement and they decided that the site for this festival would be Olympia, the site of the ancient athletic competition. And there we begin with the Olympic Games.

So, in fact, what is interesting here is that it was not that we had an athletic festival which then helped peace, but it was the actual purpose of the Olympic Games, to bring a period of peace in the ancient times. And the Olympic Truce was actually followed in a very sacred way for over one thousand years.

There was a call before the Games, when people would announce that now the Games are to begin, wars would stop, the athletes would leave the battlefield if they were on the battlefield and go to Olympia where the Games would take place. And in fact, we do have even statues where peace was made between different warring states during the Olympic Games.

Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Giorgos A. Papandreou at the Economist Conference on The Olympic Truce
The 2004 Olympic Games Summit Management Strategies for the Success of the Olympiad
Athens (Intercontinental), March 05, 2002
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.papandreou.gr/papandreou/content/articlepage.aspx?articleid=185&language=0

Some modern results, cited in the same speech:

There already have been some substantial results since Juan Antonio Samaranch began with this idea, this modern idea, bringing it back to life some years ago. What are the specifics? First of all, he and the Olympic Movement was able in Bosnia, during the war, to have at least one day of truce during the Lillehammer Games in Norway. And UNICEF then came and inoculated thousands of children during that one day of truce: Muslims, Serbs and Croats from all sides.

Secondly, there was a truce held in Nagano when there was possibility of a new conflict with Iraq because of them not complying with the UN resolutions. And then, Kofi Annan was able to use those two weeks during the Nagano Games to actually hammer out an agreement with the Iraqi government. Unluckily, the agreement did not hold as long as one would have wanted to, but in any case, this was a very important moment.

Thirdly, we have the Sidney Games, where both the North and South Korean teams marched into the stadium under one Olympic flag. I think these are just some of the small or large examples of what might happen when this inspiration does take hold and does create the possibility for a moment of peace.