It was inevitable that the nation and the media got caught up in the excitement of Beijing 2008 and the achievements of ‘Team GB’. The team were treated to top class treatment, even having a designer jumbo jet to bring them home. And, as expected, a rejuvenated Prime Minister was at the entrance of the royal arrival lounge to meet, greet and shake hands with the sporting heroes. Why not? They deserved the adoration. However, it compelled me to think about sport and politics, which are opposites. My thought process threw up a heading which would prove my objective thinking. Sport lifts a nation and politics brings a nation down. To carry on from the start of this piece, could we imagine the Prime Minister meeting, greeting and shaking hands of the soldiers and airmen alighting from an aged Hercules landing at a baron airbase in Oxfordshire? Who, by the way, have probably shared space with the coffins of forgotten heroes forced to fight for an imperialist alliance. I don’t think so. As you can see, one scenario lifts a nation and the other brings a nation down to the reality of a hypocritical government.

With no time to blink after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, it was over to London 2012 and an invitation to the world to come to London and party, party, party. Cheers, applause and excitement filled the streets around Buckingham Palace, the home of a foreign inbred royal family, which is said to tempt the world’s population to assemble in four years time. It looks good on telly, as did the Beijing Olympics. The people, or government, behind the telly can choose to wipe out the politics. If I was a citizen of the world looking in, I would think again about the politics of ‘Team Downing Street’. The first mistake was made to show me an image of Myra Hindley, chid killer. And, this was after the Chinese went to great lengths to dispel Chairman Mao. Some historians said that her image was a part of British history. This is true and will make the citizens of the world to think again. I would think how the British government has created an unsafe environment and society for people to visit in the wake of home-grown terrorist threats to come against London 2012.

The government enthuse about the young people of today to get involved and prepare for 2012. Most maybe out of prison by then and if the Olympic Board introduce a sport of knife throwing, then we will pick up that elusive 20^th gold medal.

So, we will now have four years of politics, which will be swept away in 2012 in aid of sport and lifting the nation once again. The thing is, will the four years of politics sweep away the fears of the waiting crowd from the rest of the world? Or, will four years of politics produce the excuse of 2012 to invade the rest of the world?

Let us not forget the forgotten heros who spearhead the government’s politics without a handshake. Sport and politics do not share a common goal of a ‘feel good society’.

London 2012: Think again. Watch it on the telly!

Mark. S. Bennison. (Author)