'Bred Crumbs

11:54 AM Attack of the Secondhand Links ...

Tonight, the opening ceremonies for another big round of Missing the Point. As the world's athletes gather in oppressive Utah for what is supposed to be celebration of sport and global harmony, the Winter Olympics are being pushed hard here as America's Games -- that is, America's chance to be self-centered and arrogant and think winning medals proves anything. Of course, what this nation and its people should be doing is listening to the rest of the world. Here's one powerful voice from The Times of London (link via Salon):

By identifying America primarily as a military power, by asserting that it will pursue its perceived national interests regardless of international laws, coalitions or treaties, by emphasising its unchallengeable superiority over every other nation and global institution, by claiming an unconditional moral hegemony over any adversary he cares to identify, and by acting so blatantly in the interests of the US business establishment, Mr Bush is weakening America and playing into the hands of its opponents.

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On a lighter and more aerodynamic note, a visual highlight of the Salt Lake Games is bound to be the Canadian speed-sport costumes. (Link via Outsports)

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This link requires registration and will be free for only another week, but this New York Times article is thought-provoking reading: "The Trouble with Self-Esteem." (Link via Using Bees)

Self-esteem is something I've never been long on, and I've found that my conscious efforts to improve it have made me a happier and more productive person -- but they haven't necessarily made me a better or more successful person, which is the key to the flaws in the concept of self-esteem as cure-all:

"There is absolutely no evidence that low self-esteem is particularly harmful," [researcher Nicholas] Emler says. "It's not at all a cause of poor academic performance; people with low self-esteem seem to do just as well in life as people with high self-esteem. In fact, they may do better, because they often try harder."

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