78-13-A2
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1978
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Olympics[edit]
Transcript[edit]On August 8th the California State Legislature--both houses, Assembly and State, in a rare example of bipartisanship--passed a joint resolution unanimously. In the interest of human rights and because of the oppression of dissidents in the Soviet Union, they urged that the 1980 Olympics be removed from Moscow. They further resolved that their resolution should be sent to the President and Vice President of the United States, to every California Senator and Congressman, to the U.S. Olympic committee, the International committee and to the Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. Among the "whereas's" was this one: "The holding of the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow severely politicizes the ideals of the Olympic games." Whether they knew it or not, the California legislature was part of what seems to be a growing movement worldwide. Formal protests have been filed in Congress. The issue has become a subject of debate in Latin America, Western Europe and even some Third World countries. The London Times during the Soviet show trials editorialized that a boycott might be in order. Most of the talk, however, is not of no Olympic games in 1980, but of a transfer of the games to another country which does observe human rights. It might be well to recall the 1936 Olympics which were held in Hitler's Berlin. It was a propaganda tour de force for the Nazis which dazzled the world and contributed to the belief that surely Hitler wouldn't set the world aflame. But he did--just three years later. And now we know they were building the ovens at Belsen and Aschwitz while the crowds were cheering in the Olympic Stadium. Leaders in the Western World have spoken out strongly against the Kangaroo court trials of men such as Shcharansky and Ginsburg, who are now rotting in the labor camps--the Soviet Gulag. They'll be rotting there in 1980 when the Olympic Torch, the symbol of sportsmanship and honor, is lighted to open the games. What would happen if the leaders of the Western world told the International Olympic Committee and the Soviet Union that torch must be lit in some other country unless and until the Soviets honor the Helsinki agreement? In a letter to the London Times a former pacifist--a liberal Beverly Nichols wrote "The West has very few cards left to play in the shabby game that now masquerades as international diplomacy. But we still hold the Ace of trumps. It may be battered and dogeared, but it is imprinted with the Olympic torch of freedom, and it cannot be outbid. If only someone had the courage to play it." Mr. Nichols has said it all. How would the Kremlin rulers explain the cancellation of the games to their people? And being unable to, what if they were to come out of their dark world and agree to join their world neighbors in the sunlight of the Helsinki pact which they signed but which they have refused so far to observe? If they don't and we participate in the games anyway, what do we say to our young athletes about honor? This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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