Here’s something else from the Summer Olympics to think about: If the medal counts are any indication, the United States is faring exceptionally well when it competes with the rest of the world.
The U.S., which we are often told has become a nation of losers, wound up with 121 medals. That was well ahead of second-place China’s 70 and Great Britain’s 67.
It is certainly obvious that winning a lot of Olympic medals does nothing to fix the problems in our country. But the victories do point the way to making things better: hard work.
Sports competitions such as the Olympics are unique in that they make the difficult seem easy — as if a gold medalist just walked into a stadium and won with no effort at all.
The opposite is true. Whether or not they win a medal, athletes put in countless hours of practice, dieting and preparation, all to deliver a peak performance at the right time.
That’s the prescription for our country as a whole, and the Olympics clearly indicates that America still has the capacity to excel.
Shame on those who think otherwise.
