The return of les bons sauvages

So, that was it ...  21 days of samba driven poli-pan-hellenic top notch sports with a peek of Japanese joy in the end.  I cannot think of any reasonable period of time wherein so many individuals from such a large range of countries and cultures come together for the same purpose.

And what country, what city, what population serves better than the Cariocas to vividly turn the Olympic Games into a rhythmatic marathon of celebration, wherein athletes are naturally placed in the spotlight with Brazilian self-awareness all around, far away from turbulent domestic or not less shaking international politics.

Press from almost anywhere was eager to pinpoint delays, disorganisation, pick up on demonstrating torch carriers, volunteers not returning the next day of work or Brazilian boo'ing in support of their national athletes, but that all turned to be just a very small drop in an ocean of sports competition at its finest.

Whomever approaches Rio today by air or water from the east can probably grasp what would have attracted sailors travelling from Spain, France, England, The Netherlands, even Germany and of course Portugal in what we in the west refer to as a period of discoveries and colonisation.

It is said that many of the 16th and 17th philosophers/writers who pushed a concept of liberté, igalité and fraternité as one of common sense against too much concentration of political powers, were themselves inspired by the behaviour of indians from north to south America, including Brazil's Tupinamba.

The idea and intent of the "bon sauvage" from the Americas was to serve as a reminding example for self-proclaimed developed civilisations in Machiavelian Europe that man is born good but that indeed society or civilisation corrupts them.  Montesquieu, way ahead of time in L'esprit de lois, which so heavily influenced many countries' modern day constitutions, touches upon the inevitable connection between man and nature and the threats of climate change.

It was almost as if the opening ceremony in Rio too sought to remind the world that the industrialisation, a portrait of which so wonderfully kicked off at the London 2012 games, wasn't all good and that maybe man and nature should step back in.

I see purpose in connecting the Olympiads with world issues that have no link with sports.  Bringing in the the torne USA flag from NYC's twin towers during the 2002 winter games was a bad idea, but I thought it was a brilliant to have athletes place 207 different species of national seeds to create a forest.

Now that athletes have returned to their (home) countries there is, again, an opportunity for authorities and societies to decide what emphasis to place on the relevance of sports and in particular those which enjoy a true Olympic status, to pedestal all athletes, including those that finished only a few seconds or centimetres after medal winners and the abilities and attitudes they practice in between Olympic venues.

After all .....

Capito ?

On my way to the French west coast with my children this past July, we chose to stay overnight in Euskadi.  There's something fascinating about having driven quite a few kilometres through relatively plain and summer dry Castilla y León and approach the green hills and mountains which kind of hide the Basque Country, a region which kept Spain in the global top 5 of countries exposed to terrorism but that ended (only ... already ...) 10 years ago.

Our motives to seek overnight harbour in Euskadi go back 500 years however and were purely driven by peace of mind and knowledge.

After 5 years of attending a Jesuit College I guess it was time for my kids to vividly see, smell and feel the environment wherein a young Inigo Lopez grew up to become a knight to then seek a life dedicated to the work of Christianity which eventually made him San Ignacio de Loyola.

I certainly not expect my children to pursue a life of either armed knighthood nor incardination but will require a sense of origin and principle and a continuous search for knowledge at the service of a common good, something which will probably be of more relevance in their lifetimes than that of their father.

Like the most famous living Jesuit said not so long ago (and not for the first time) ... "the world is at war".   I must admit that my admiration for the Vatican has risen tremandously since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Papa Francesco and it's been both refreshing and necessary to have a real bridge builder as Sommo Pontefice.

He was very clear in his statements towards the press and insisted that the war we are living is not a war between religions, since all religions seek peace.  That was a necessary diplomatic statement from after all who is also head of the Vatican as well as securing message towards the tens of thousands of clergy priests the Vatican indirectly employs and whom had lost a colleague brutally murdered by two stateless youngsters in Normandy.  As a political leader it does mean the Pope is getting involved and I am certain that there is a lot more meaning in all the actions rather than words he is launching.

But ....... if there is one aspect which characterises and distinguishes Islamic movements from present day Christian or simply the non-religious life which is pursued by a growing majority, it is the relevance and role the religion has in the overall day-to-day routines of its followers.

In most of the western countries which have had a hand in religious warfare, religion is not a daily concern and for the present generations the crusades or wars with Moors and Ottomans are just a more or less boring compulsory chapters in school education never to be revisited again when true life commences, just as much as a separation of church and state has relevance only if questions pop up on a school exam.

It is very worrisome that young people today whom may very well sit in the same class room, are being so distinctly raised at home to pursue different paths by principles approval or disapproval that have a time difference of hundreds of years in between.  So unfortunately the solution does vest in religion, but ..... being principally thought at schools by teachers and not by theologists and if we are in a hurry, a little room for adult education never harmed anyone.  Capito ?