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Bread and circuses?

Choosing a mystery over the Olympics demonstrates how out of touch the games have become for many people. In Canada they are justifing the dollars spent to support our team as an investment in "role models" for our future youth. This buys into the current mythology that sports stars are the vicars of sports religion.

Whether such role models will have an effect on youth who seem very angry and disillusioned at the current state of affairs our world finds itself in, is uncertain — yet dollars continue to be invested in the increasingly elite and expensive Olympic organization. I am not sure how sustainable such an extensive tradition will continue to be in light of the struggle nations find themselves in balancing deficits and supporting aging infastructuresand social programs.

To continue to entertain the world with this sports lovefest that brings the world together to sing "kum bay yah" while encircling the Olympic flame is a shallow veneer for all the global strife that needs to be addressed with equity and justice.

The Reverend Donald Shields
Grace Church, Markham, Ontario, CANADA
planet.shields@gmail.com
30 July 2012

Archdeacons not absent

You wrote “Who ever thought of archdeacons as lead characters in anything?”

Trollope with Archdeacon Grantly in the Barchester series and Victor Hugo in Notre Dame are just two who did.

Peter Kirsop
St Peter's, East Maitland
Maitland, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
pkirsop@gmail.com
3 August 2012

Editors comment: As Archdeacon Grantly would no doubt expostulate, 'Good heavens!' We're blushing at our oversight.

Earlier letters

We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published letters are in our archives.