Sports power to change and unite a nation, or community of nations for the better is notable. Nelson Mandela has said:

Sport has the power to change the world … It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.

American’s Have Come A Long Way For Racial Change

I think of Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics or Jackie Robinson becoming the first black player to be drafted in Major League Baseball in 1947. About how the color barrier has been torn asunder in the American psyche as people from other racial backgrounds take part successfully in sports.

The thinking of Americans towards race, has had a bumpy go at times. But Americans have come a long way in acceptance and celebration of other races and creeds.

We’re not perfect by any means, but in a few short generations the change has been quite inspiring and dramatic. Especially in light of the election of President Obama in 2008.

As Americans we also have our National belief that our loving Creator has has created all men equally and has endowed each with unalienable rights. We see this recorded in the second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence which starts as follows:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Rio and the Power of the Human Spirit

Last night I was watching the Olympics with my wife and granddaughter. The celebration, pomp, competition and the power of the human spirit moves me to tears at times.

I was watching for my wife, who loves the Olympic games. I remember watching our first Olympics together in 1984. We were living in South Korea in a small one bedroom apartment at the time. We didn’t have a TV then, but I specifically bought one so we could watch and enjoy the Olympics together.

The athletes that were big for Americans then were Mary Lou Retton, the Gymnast, Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses the track stars, and Greg Louganis the phenomenal diver. The current stars to this point of the Olympics that stand out in my mind are Simone Biles and the Final Five, gymnasts, Michael Phelps the most decorated Olympian ever and Katie Ledecky, both for swimming.

Embrace Change In Regards to Racial Acceptance

The pomp, celebration, and competition of the Olympics and sports in general can cause the power of the human spirit to rise to any occasion with the right influence for good.  It has the power to inspire, unite and to change the world for the better. Let’s embrace change in regards to racial acceptance and continue to see the best that mankind has to offer.