There is no question about it.
Americans love the Olympics.
The Olympics averaged almost 35 million viewers in prime time and crushed its competition. NBC might even break even on its $1.2 billion investment because of the better-thanexpected ratings. Americans ate up this ultimate reality show, but the big question is: Why?
Was it the unbelievable athletic performances? Of course! We were all amazed at the incredible feats of physical achievement.
Was it the stories of these young athletes and the sacrifices they and their families have made to reach the goal of competing in the Olympics? Of course!
Commentators have told story after story about the incredible amount of time Michael Phelps and other swimmers have had to spend in the pool to preparefor these games. They have revealed the personal sacrifi ces athletes and their families have made to get to the Olympics.
Many athletes have had to move to another city and leave their families to get the proper training. Some families have had to endure signifi cant fi nancial stress to pay for these dreams.
Do we love these stories and the results of the amazing efforts of these athletes? You bet, and for good reason. They show us what individuals can accomplish when they put their minds, hearts andbodies into it.
We admire these athletes, their sacrifices and their achievements. We don’t begrudge them their talent and effort. We applaud them. We are proud they are Americans and have made extraordinary sacrifices to achieve these rarified goals. We’re also proud of our system that delivers these incredible results without a penny of taxpayer (government) support.
We don’t demonize those who have won, suggesting their achievements have somehow kept the rest of us from succeeding. We don’t suggest since they drove to their workouts on American roads, they somehow owe credit for their success to the rest of us. With the Olympics we can appreciate the work and success of these athletes. Why would that change when we see the same sacrifices in other aspects of our lives?
I have several friends who have started their own small businesses and I have found their eff orts and sacrifices are very similar to these Olympic athletes and families. They have risked much and in several cases they have risked everything.
Most of them have put more hours into their businesses than any of these athletes have put into their sports. To me, these are the real American heroes. Not only have they risked it all and worked crazy hours, but they have provided employment for hundreds of other families and even given large chunks of their earnings to charitable causes.
Why do we minimize these heroes when they are successful instead of cheering them on? Why doesn’t our government at least treat them like it treats our Olympic athletes and just get out of the way and let them achieve? Whydo we burden them with thousands of regulations that seem designed just to frustrate their eff orts?
We are not China, where they select their athletes at an early age and treat these young people like little more than raw materials to be used to advance the image of the state. Our Olympic team is a collection of individuals who have decided for themselves to make the extra effort it takes to compete at that level. They are free to work as hard as they want to achieve their goals, and our country’s only real contribution is to provide that freedom, which is a big thing.
And so it is with our economy. We are a collection of individual efforts that have delivered the strongest economy in the world almost since our nation began. In the United States, the government works for us, not the otherway around. No one in government would try to take credit for Phelps’ gold medals and they shouldn’t try to take credit for the individual efforts of our businesses across this great country.
Everyone has the use of roads and bridges in America. Gabby Douglas chose to use them to win a gold medal. Others have used them to start businesses or just work hard and provide for their families. That is what makes America great.
It is “We the People” and all of our combined efforts and character that make us great. The sooner the people in Washington realize this, the sooner we can, once again, release the secret power of our country: our citizens.
KEVIN CANFIELD, A SPRINGDALE RESIDENT, IS A PROCTER & GAMBLE RETIREE AND AUTHOR OF “MASTERING SALES.”
Opinion, Pages 15 on 08/19/2012