VICTOR JOECKS: Olympics exposed folly of woke ideology

The things that make the Olympics incredible are what the left wants to destroy in this country.

The closing ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics Games is Sunday. For the past two weeks, the world’s best athletes have competed for gold and greatness. If past viewing patterns hold, billions of people will have seen some portion of these games.

Think about why that is.

One reason is that athletes don’t just compete for individual glory. They represent their country. Last month, you probably didn’t know anything about swimmer Kate Douglass or 1,500 meter winner Cole Hocker. That didn’t matter. You knew those athletes wore the red, white and blue. That was reason enough to cheer them on.

Personally, I loved hearing my kids spontaneously chant “USA, USA, USA” as they watched Katie Ledecky swim to victory.

National pride is a natural human emotion. In the women’s 100-meter dash, Julien Alfred won Saint Lucia’s first ever gold medal. The country erupted in celebration. Her victory was their victory. It’s a vivid example that people need connection — in a family, a community and a country.

Generally, it’s good to be proud of your country. Further, the United States is a country worth being proud of. When victorious U.S. athletes such as 400-meter hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone draped the flag over their shoulders, they beamed.

What a contrast to the left’s push to kneel for the national anthem or progressive smears of this country as systemically racist.

The Olympics are the ultimate competitive stage. The point is to provide a level playing field and see who comes out on top. That’s equality. But the diversity, equity and inclusion crowd doesn’t want that.

“Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place,” Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has said.

Think about how absurd this is. Officials would have to punish Simone Biles for being the greatest female gymnast of all time. That’s the only way to put her in the same place as her peers. That would obviously be unfair, but it’s analogous to what the left wants government to do.

A broader version of this argument would apply that standard to groups. The government, the left would say, needs to give special advantages to certain racial minorities.

Think about how this would work at the Olympics. The United States won more than 100 medals. As I’m writing this, India has won just five. America’s population is around 337 million. India’s is more than 1.45 billion. The disproportionate result is obvious. India has more than four times as many people, but the United States won 20 times more medals.

To even that out would require taking medals away from deserving U.S. athletes. Sorry, Noah Lyles. Sure, you won the 100 meters in a literal photo finish, but your country has won too many medals. Your gold needs to go to someone else. The injustice would be obvious. That’s analogous to what affirmative action and other DEI initiatives do.

Perhaps that’s fine in sports, a leftist might counter, but in real life, the government still needs to step in to help people succeed. Here’s the problem with that argument. Competition makes you work harder. That makes you better, even if you don’t come out on top. The Olympics are a zero-sum game, but in a free market, the economy isn’t. If you work hard, you’ll succeed even if you aren’t at the top of your field.

Shoot, I’m not even the best conservative columnist in the Review-Journal’s opinion section named Victor. But I’d like to think practice has improved my writing over the years. Regardless, I am grateful to have the best readers.

The left’s woke ideology wouldn’t just ruin the Olympics. It would ruin America.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.