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 .....