OLYMPIAN

last summer's olympics passed me by
the media infatuation with 'team gb' was completely lost on me
its glittering gold medal-winning celebrity athletes made no impression
the obsession with competing to win
the hallmark of modern industrial civilisation
hijacked the whole event
(along with the corporate sponsors)
for the olympic spirit is not about triumph but about taking part
among the thousands of athletes
few won a medal
most were also-rans
losers
failures
disappointments by the impossibly high standards of winner-takes-all
but this attitude is pernicious
beginning in the nursery and weaving its way through the social fabric
competition trumps cooperation
the power of self subordinates the common good
human is pitched against human
humanity is pitched against nature
it is the guiding principle of our age
meanwhile out there in the real world
the gap between rich and poor grows
natural resources are inexorably mined and polluted
and an international climate treaty remains a hazy mirage
the challenge is olympian