The USA men’s basketball team is probably not going to stage a political protest during these Olympic Games. Today’s athletes are not built like yesterday’s athletes. Their priorities are perhaps a little different. Team USA’s silence on Darfur has many people angry, but their anger is misdirected. It should not be directed at Kobe Bryant or LeBron James; it should be directed towards the Chinese government.
Since when do we need other people to be angry for us? Yes, LeBron and Kobe are way more popular than most Americans can ever hope to be, but that doesn’t mean if they don’t speak out then no one should. I’ve spoken with many people who have voiced their displeasure with Team USA’s reluctance to speak out against the Chinese government, but not one of those people has done anything of substance to voice their displeasure about the situation in Darfur. The truth is, we should all be outraged and we should all be doing something, anything. The truth is, none of us are.
It’s easy for us to rationalize our inactivity by hiding behind the fact that we’re just one little person working in a cubicle in an office for a small company. “No one is going to listen to us anyway.” That’s a sad excuse. You don’t have to be a millionaire to change the world, nor do you have to have an established name. While we all sit around waiting on the popular people to do something, nothing is getting done.
Every other week we have to pick something new to be outraged about. This week we are supposed to be outraged that a basketball team comprised of young millionaire athletes isn’t outraged about things going on halfway across the world. Could they use their voice to do more? Certainly, but so could you and I. Instead we’re sitting around pointing fingers at others who choose to do nothing. Next time we want to pass judgment, we should remember the old adage “when you point a finger at someone there are three pointing back at you”.
Visit C.C.’s blog at http://coco-vents.blogspot.com. C.C. can be reached at cfelicec@yahoo.com.
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