Vignette: An Olympic gaffe

Matt Emmons received a lot of attention last week for giving up a gold medal. All he needed was a 6.5 (out of 10+) to win [shooting], and his shot didn’t even make the bullseye board. A national sigh, especially given a similar incident in 2004, when he got so excited about a seemingly guaranteed gold medal that he hit someone else's target.

My dad's reaction: If he were a Chinese athlete, he'd be cleaning bathrooms for at least two years for a mistake like that.
Friend: Two years? He'd never compete again! Everyone in China would be after him, and out of 1.2 billion people, you only need one to succeed.

In China, athletes represent their country to a degree that Americans do not. They are trained from a young age to compete as professional athletes, all on the government’s tab. While state-funded athletes may not have to give up their sport for lack of money, this kind of system places immense pressure on athletes. In China, each individual success or failure becomes a national one. Americans are more individualistic in watching the Olympics: we are certainly proud of our country, but it is not tied to athletes in the same way. No bathroom-cleaning…

PS My brother’s summary of the Olympics Closing Ceremony: bike helmets + spandex suits with neon lights.

Musing: The myth about value voters

"Value voters" is a term that has grown popular among both liberals and conservatives, but it doesn't make sense to me. How can we imply that some people vote according to their values and others do not? Aren't we all value voters?

Behind any public policy is (hopefully) a set of principles--dare I say values--that make it a relevant and important policy. Whether health care or train track width regulations, we do what we believe to be right. We can vote for candidates who support policies that we do--and therefore probably hold the same values--or we can vote for candidates who speak to the values that we hold dear. It does not seem like a big difference to me. Furthermore, who's to say our values are that different? Talk of "family values" is most ridiculous, because it implies that some politicians do not believe in healthy, happy families. While I know Democrats can have a penchant for eating babies, it is more our definition of the ideal family that varies. (Democrats are slowly catching on to this.)

Despite the lack of meaning behind the term "value voter," both ends of the political spectrum have embraced the term for rhetorical purposes. Conservatives can claim the moral high ground as liberals shy away from talk of morals and paint "value voters" as irrational, uneducated people. But buzz words getting in the way of real conversation is nothing new.

Proud to be a value voter.

Vignette: Online Friends

With one month left before I leave for Paris, I need to buckle down and review some French. Toward this end, I tried to find French expats here in Shanghai--there are surprisingly many, 6000 according to the French consulate. So through websites and Facebook, I emailed several people about a possible language exchange or conversation in French.

I have to say, it felt pretty sketchy to introduce myself to complete strangers and ask them if they wanted to hang out...But really, it's quite harmless to use the Internet to find friends in a city where I have none, and increasingly common. It also works--I've found a couple of very friendly people. As the Internet becomes more widely used, and I grow too old for the type of creep you hear about in the news, it seems to have become quite safe! (With certain precautions, of course.)

2008 Olympics, from inside China

Everyone is watching the Olympics here in Shanghai, with coverage on numerous channels, it’s hard not to get caught up in it. The games have been overwhelmingly positive for China, as a country and as a people. The opening ceremonies were beautiful, leaders of participating countries have attended, logistics seem to be going smoothly, and the facilities look spotless. Despite negative coverage of the Olympics from abroad, I don't doubt this event will be considered a success.

It reminds me of the 2004 DNC in Boston, which was criticized for various reasons literally up until the day it happened (problems with funding, political disagreements between Menino and Kerry, traffic inconveniences, etc.). The convention is now considered an overwhelming success, and has changed Boston's status in the US for the better.

Of course, all the political turmoil we hear about in the news nevertheless exists, and I wouldn’t say that international relations have improved as a result of the games. But I suppose the Olympic spirit (and propaganda??) has finally gotten to me, and, I realize, we still can and should appreciate the Olympics for the good that they bring.

Summer Wrap-Up, 2008

Take-home point of the summer: The problem with politics is…the politics.

On one hand, politics refers to what goes on in our political system: elected officials, public policies, the various parties that affect change in this country.

On the other hand, it also refers to the power struggles between people with conflicting (or even similar) interests. A doesn’t like B, so they can’t work together on a project. C and D have history, so they can work together to bring in E. F just doesn’t like email.

The second kind of politics is present in any situation where people are working together, i.e. any office. But does politics (definition 1) attract people who are particularly interested in creating politics (definition 2)? There are certainly many who see it as an exciting game of manipulation and strategy, to the point where progress becomes almost impossible. But then I’m beating a dead horse.

Fortunately, local politics seems to run more efficiently than the national level, at least in Boston. Working in DC last summer was exciting and frustrating at the same time: while I was comforted that there are many good people working on Capitol Hill, it operates like its own world. News travels differently, everyone is watching C-SPAN all day to follow the latest speech or motion, people in politics see the same people every day to talk politics until you run out of breath…while local politics may be more humble in what you accomplish, you have the potential to accomplish a lot more. (Except that there are still plenty of politics--definition 2.)

All in all, it was another great summer, and I can’t wait to share the results of some of my main New Media projects: a video about Boston’s capital projects and an upcoming YouTube video contest for high school students in Boston. Maybe I’ve found my niche!

Musing: A Southern fetish?

I think I have a Southern fetish. The evidence:

1. Southern food (fried chicken, biscuits with honey, etc.)
2. Line dancing
3. “y’all”
4. Considering living in the South (Atlanta?)
5. Social conservatism

Much of this resulted from getting in touch with my Midwestern roots again. Though I’ve been in the Boston area for 8 years, my formative years in the Midwest shaped me more than I realized until recently. “Hidden” conservative values started surfacing: I didn’t realize 25 seemed like a young age to get married to many, and I respect this nation’s tenuous division of church and state. A re-evaluation of my values has left me wondering where my “roots” are.

This kind of re-evaluation seems to have translated into a Southern fetish, though I have never really been to the South. (Two years in Kentucky doesn’t really count.) Now, I did legitimately grew up on Southern food, and my love for line dancing could stem from either square dancing in gym class or dancing in Footloose. So maybe it’s no fetish; I’m just not as loyal to New England and Massachusetts liberal ideas as I used to be.