GOING FOR THE GOLD

Always time for the Circus Maximus.  Forget about rampant global poverty.  Forget virulent violence from city streets to War Departments.  Forget about the dulling of human thought due to the endless escalation of pop culture.  Forget about anything worth remembering for the time being or at least as long as the Olympics last.  From the Golden Age of the Greeks to our time and probably until the extinction of our illustrious species, the games will have successfully distracted the masses from their endlessly boring struggle to survive and make decent lives for themselves.  How rewarding the vicarious thrill of watching a favorite competitor win a contest and stand high center like a demigod with a gold medal for all to see reflecting the rays of the sun!  The spectacle brings tears to the eyes, especially when the gold medalist is a citizen of one's own country.  Of course the nation with most decorations is by extension the greatest in the world, a status confirmed when the games conclude and the time for war continues.