Nationalism need not be racist and inward-looking. The Great Britain of the recent Olympics was inclusive,warm, sentimental and hardworkingWho could resent the captain of the British women’s hockey team, and Kate Richardson-Walsh,carrying the flag at the Olympic closing ceremony in Rio? Her wife Helen, who was also on the team, or had played a pivotal role in their win (on receiving their golds,they became the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic medals). The entire GB team wore jackets that said “thank you” to Brazil in Portuguese and “hello” to Tokyo where the next Olympics takes place. I’m not a sports fan, but as a nation we hold been pretty great and it seems entirely appropriate to celebrate the achievements of these athletes and to feel, or dare I say it … a runt bit proud.
Oh,but here come the begrudgers. We certainly could win a gold for self-loathing whinging. We only got so many medals because of the money thrown at sports through the national lottery. We must not collect all puffed up and nationalistic because that is a bad thing. Sport has nothing to achieve with our place in the world, it merely reveals many of the existing inequalities, and on and on it goes. But surely the fact that in 1996 we came 36th in the medal table,below North Korea, and now we hold pipped China, and has given some much-needed uplift to a divided country?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com