Maybe it is all about me after all

Many kids probably have dreamed of becoming Olympians. Personally, I can remember watching Carl Lewis on TV at the L.A. Games and I probably went outside and ran a little faster because of it. The Soviets and their communist allies were not at those games as I recall, and the Olympics of 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 played a key role in a global PR battle between between two major world views.

Beijing 2008 will certainly have its own unique political implications. Beyond Tibet and Darfur, though, one story at the coming Olympics will herald the rise of the self above all other allegiances. The story below from ESPN is a must-read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=3336490&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2

In a nutshell, a gifted Midwestern basketball player named Becky Hammon will be achieving a dream: becoming an Olympian. The fact that she will be wearing a jersey that says (in a language she cannot read) "Russia" seems to be of little consequence to her.

While the U.S.A v. Russia aspect adds to the shock value, the real story here is rise of pure individualism. "Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I'm absolutely 100 percent American. I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is my opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics."

Sadly, Ms. Hammon's quote is not contradictory. The America of today stands for each person fulfilling his or her own dreams, rather than gathering to conquer problems that no one person can solve alone. Massive problems exist like global warming, the AIDS pandemic, one billion people without clean water, and hundreds of millions more without the opportunity to read the Bible or any other book for that matter. Nevertheless, these lesser priorities must wait until my dreams are satisfied.

Last night I attended a charity banquet raising funds for clean water wells in the developing world. Through a strange set of circumstances I found myself at a table with strangers. One highly buffed and polished young Christian professional pondered aloud whether he should pay for the scheduled 45,000 mile maintenance on his expensive car or use that as an excuse to buy a brand new one. His equally shiny friend, who was soon embarking on an ambitious mountain climbing PR stunt to raise money for well drilling in Liberia, suggested . . . (dramatic pause) . . . that he really consider buying that new car.