Janet Anstead
From the President:
Olympic Gold
As most Canadians, these past 10 days or so, I have been glued to the TV watching the Vancouver Olympic Games. The spectacular Opening Ceremonies brought a tear to my eye, as did many of the moments of triumph and disappointment we have experienced alongside our Olympians. The exhilaration of finally winning a Gold medal at home, the delightful giggles of Short track skater Marianne St-Gelais, the tears of skeleton athlete Melissa Hollingsworth, the tragedy and triumph of Figure Skater Joannie Rochette. These, and so many more, are going to be memories that will undoubtedly become part of who we are as Canadians.
There is, however, something troubling me about these games. I am not referring to the obvious negative side of the Olympics: the issue of Human Trafficking or the challenge levelled at a society that has spent so much on these games while we still have homeless persons, children living in poverty etc. There are, thankfully, committed people who are ensuring that we cannot ignore these realities; that the vulnerable and marginalized slip from our field of vision as we focus on the majesty and spectacle of the Olympics.
No – what is troubling me is something more insidious than that. At the time of writing this the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) has just conceded that the Own the Podium campaign has failed – put simply, our medal count was considered a failure. I find this troubling. Since when did we buy into the notion that success was to be measured in such terms? Is this just the media’s way of creating sales and interest, or does this truly reflect our societal values? As a Canadian I have trouble believing that.
Yes, I anticipate many people saying ‘it's about national pride and Canada needs more of that’. I have no disagreement with that argument. The question is not the value of national pride; the question is what do we base that national pride on? As a society we do not need to have our value judgements foisted upon us by the media, the COC or by our ‘competitor’ nations. We can make those determinations for ourselves.
What is it that Canadians take pride in? That for 30 seconds on a mogul hill one of our daughters is ranked best in the world? Or, rather, that one of our daughters is so committed to the idea of excellence that she is willing to sacrifice the usual indulgences of early adulthood? Do we hang our pride on one of our sons skating 1,500 metres in the fastest time on a specific afternoon, on a specific day? Or rather, that one of our sons can model perseverance, dedication and hard work to a future generation? Do we invest our national pride in one of our daughters being able to land firmly on the thinnest blade after completing 3 rotations? Or rather, that one of our daughters, with our love and support, refuses to be defeated by personal tragedy? And finally, do we base our national pride on the fact that out of the 200-plus daughters and sons competing, we win a certain number of medals? Can we not count the fact that we have 200 plus daughters and sons willing to sacrifice, persevere, overcome, and dedicate themselves as a success? Can we not count the fact that we are a nation that can afford to support them in their quests and love them in their triumph as a success - however we choose to measure that?
Blessings
Janet
Janet Anstead is the President of the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. She lives in London, ON.
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