Should we celebrate when a champion quits
Credit:Illustration: Jim Pavlidis
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number.OLYMPIC GAMESShould we celebrate when a champion quits?Simone Biles, the superstar American gymnast who has pulled out of the team’s finals to put her mental health first, has lived a life of strength, determination and excellence. She is a champion and a survivor. She is not “weakâ€, nor a “quitter†as some people have suggested. Equally, in this controversy, it seems she was unable to overcome the obstacles she faced and she did quit. Only she, and maybe not even she, knows if this was through necessity or choice.
Olympic champions demonstrate the magnificence and beauty of human achievement when talent, hard work and determination are relentlessly applied. Champions, somehow, overcome. We draw inspiration from the idea that we, too, can achieve when we apply ourselves. As a society, we depend on each other to struggle on so that we can all get through. Thankfully, we are also creating space for people to fail. We all fail at some point.
However, accepting failure, and celebrating it, are two different things. Simone deserves immense sympathy, for this event to be framed in the context of her life, and for her decision to be unquestioned and respected. I do not think, however, it should be celebrated.
Hamish Weatherly, Mortlake
I was very moved by the opening ceremony in Tokyo. I would like to have an Olympic Games in the spirit of John Lennon’s song, Imagine. No country to play for, no national medal tally, no anthems during medal presentations, just fanfare for the common athlete and the sonority of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Elio Comello, Altona Meadows
Karl Quinn (The Age, 28/7) is correct that there is a mesmerising choice of what, and when, to see all aspects of the Tokyo Olympics on a multitude of sources, and not just television channels.
However, it is a pity that Channel Seven does not follow the BBC which, each night, has a 90-minute highlights show that packages together all the key points of the day’s events. It is perfect for those who do not have the time (or do not want) to sit in front of the television all day. Of course, it has a heavy British emphasis which is understandable. It would be great to have something similar in Australia, a bit like what SBS does for the Tour de France.
David Parker, Geelong West
And it’s gold, gold, gold for Ian Thorpe and his articulate, insightful and sophisticated commentary. He treats his audience as adults, unlike certain peers whose zingers include telling us the obvious (“To be a legend, you’ve got to beat a legendâ€), describing almost everything as “sensational†and mispronouncing “debut†way too often. Throw to Thorpe, please.
Matthew Leung, Hawthorn
I am not sure that my kids want to return to on-site learning until the Olympic Games are finished. They and their friends are currently making plans to represent Australia at Brisbane 2032.
Donna Lancaster, Inverloch
In a world of COVID-19 news and its associated mass choir of complainers, how nice it has been to look at The Age this week and see bright, happy young Australians who have won medals, including those who have broken records. Congratulations to them all. And Ash Barty, we still love you. Always will.
Peter Bear, Mitcham
If, as is clear, Australian sport coaches continue to be vulnerable to embarrassingly aggressive displays, perhaps it would be better for the Olympic spirit if their athletes ran for glory and not gold.
Patrick Gleeson, Parkville
Consideration is being given as to whether it is appropriate for Victorian parliamentarians to recite the Lord’s Prayer each day at the commencement of each session, given that we are now a more multi-religious and non-religious society (Opinion, 29/7).
In my state school days of the 1930s and ’40s, every Monday morning we assembled in front of the flag, sang God Save The King and Advance Australia Fair and then, with our hands on our hearts, recited the pledge: “I love God and my country, I honour the flag, I will serve the King and obey my parents, teachers and the lawâ€.
Perhaps our parliamentarians could devise a similar procedure and, with hands on their hearts, stand each day and pledge to “honour the Queen, the flag, the Parliament and my constituents and the law†or something similar, as do their counterparts in the US.
Rod Mackenzie, Marshall
According to the 2016 census, 52 per cent of the Australian population were Christians. If Duncan Fine insists on balancing the wishes of the many religions represented in this country, surely the religion of the majority of the population, i.e., Christianity, deserve a fair go. By saying the Lord’s Prayer at the start of Parliament, MPs are acknowledging God and the Judeo Christian tradition.
Elaine Jenyns, Greensborough
Reciting any prayer in any workplace should not be allowed. Beginning the day by requesting any fictitious being to help us is counterproductive to modern society. If these magical “sky people†existed, then why would we need government at all?
Even a rotation through the multiple delusions of the pantheon of religions represented in today’s society serves to perpetuate the nonsense that is religious doctrine, of whatever stripe.
Why not begin Parliament with a request that all those sitting in the chamber use logic, reason, respect and facts when making decisions that affect the rest of the population. The outcome would be better for all.
Angus McLeod, Cremorne
I recall my high school science teacher defining an expert as “an unknown drip under pressureâ€, but I think Ross Gittins’ definition will take some beating: “People who remember last time better than we do†(Opinion, 28/7). As usual, another pearl of wisdom in a column that imparts so much of what is a scarce commodity.
Ann Maginness, Sandringham
Unawareness of policies
It is disappointing there is a widespread assumption that Labor lost the last election because of its policies, which many commentators and economists agree would have served the country well. People who make this assumption seem to think that the average voter has a detailed understanding of each party’s policies, and votes accordingly.
I believe voters did not so much reject Labor’s policies as follow Paul Keating’s advice of long ago: “If you don’t understand it, don’t vote for itâ€. Simon Birmingham suggested that voters approved of the Liberals’ car park rorts because they voted the government in (Insiders, 25/7). It is far more likely that voters were unaware of the details of both policies.
Jill Baird, North Melbourne
I am inconsolable at the way Labor keeps on stumbling into no man’s land, abandoning all credible policy decisions. Like former minister Joel Fitzgibbon, Labor’s aim to be successful at the next election is nothing more than wishful thinking. To put party and self-interest first (and that goes for the Coalition also) is nothing more than a desire to be “in charge†whatever the cost to the nation’s soul.
Eva Millane, Box Hill North
Along with many Age letter writers, I also despair at the ALP’s policy reversals. However, it keeps going to elections with more progressive policies than the Coalition in areas such as climate change, taxation and equality, to name a few, and it keeps getting beaten. Voters may say one thing in opinion polls or around friends, but when it comes to election day many are scared of change and vote with their wallet. The Coalition knows this all too well.
Dean Virgin, Strathmore
Labor’s decision to dump policies that had it ahead in the polls before the last election will see it languishing in opposition for years. It lost that election through arrogance (who said, “if you don’t like our policies, don’t vote for us�) and a failure to articulate an effective transition from coal. Why would anyone vote Labor now?
Barry Buskens, Beaumaris
As a Labor true believer, I am saddened by the dilution of its polices, but am reminded that change cannot occur from opposition.
Irene Zalstein, East Doncaster
I have a sick mother-in-law with complicated health conditions and she has just been turned away from a vaccination centre when she had an appointment. She is 69. Why would this happen? I have also been turned away after having made an appointment (I am also within the category which makes me eligible to receive one).
That makes two eligible adults unvaccinated and vulnerable when they have made efforts to protect themselves. And that is even after getting through the rigmarole of the faulty booking system. I am angry, confused, worried and I feel unsafe. Why can’t Australia get a vaccination program to work when we have plenty of educated people as well as money to carry out something that the rest of the world seems to be doing with ease.
Valerie Laycock, Mount Martha
It is hard to believe the opportunistic criticism of NSW for not establishing a “ring of steel†by Daniel Andrews. Who could forget the quarantine failures under his leadership, costing more than 800 deaths? And the refusal to accept criticism and responsibility.
Robert Wilson, Jan Juc
I welcome the Prime Minister’s words that the vaccination program will be completed by late December and lockdowns become a thing of the past. I hope he will not have cause to eat them, as did Gladys Berejiklian her humble pie when she belatedly agreed to lockdown in NSW.
Dawn Evans, Highton
We are told by our federal and state leaders (including NSW) that actions they take to control the Delta strain of the COVID-19 virus are based on medical advice. Considering the radically different approach taken by NSW in comparison to the other states, why is its medical advice so different? The cynic in me wonders if political pressure on NSW’s medical advisers is the answer to that question.
Ken Finley, Mount Martha
I would like to introduce a new idiom into the Australian vernacular: “They’re doing a Gladysâ€. It pertains to someone who has done something monumentally stupid but refuses to own up to it due to hubris.
Paul Collins, Clifton Hill
We actually do have a more permanent plan, Annika Smethurst (Opinion, 28/7) and that is to get Australians vaccinated. But we are moving slowly and our vaccination rate is woeful. So to protect people from severe illness we have just one strategy left to us â€" restrictions.
Julia Sykes-Turner, Hampton
Gladys Berejiklian, don’t the results now show that if you had played the health instead of the political agenda back at the beginning in Sydney, your daily smile might be less of a grimace? However, having come through the tough but successful Melbourne experience, I do wish you well now. It was worth it and here we still have social and political credibility.
Brian McKay, Albert Park
Time and again the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has proved itself to be a toothless tiger. A 50-cents variation in prices between fuel outlets in a day is unconscionable conduct by the suppliers and flouts both the rules of honesty and fair play. Wholesale prices are a smokescreen. It is time the government showed some spine and made a move to protect our interests.
Ian Anderson, Surrey Hills
As a society, we are increasingly aware of the impacts of our purchases, particularly with regard to our clothing. There remains, however, a sizeable gap between our desire to live more sustainably and the reality of our consumerist activity. Melissa Singer (26/7) sensibly suggests that we should each make one small change at a time. Making fewer purchases is an appropriate first step. It is impossible to be perfectly ethical, but that should not stop us from starting to climb the ladder of change.
Amy Hiller, Kew
Thank you, Bob Evans, for highlighting the City of Melbourne’s plans to replace the highly functional Queen Street roundabout and green oval with traffic lights (Letters, 28/7).
Roundabouts have been proven around the world to provide a superior method of traffic management. They improve traffic flow, reduce travel times, lower pollution and temper excessive traffic speeds through intersections â€" it is hard to speed through a roundabout.
The cost of installing, and the ongoing maintenance of, traffic lights, power, control systems and reconfiguring the intersection will be extremely high. Compared to a very passive (definitely not hostile) existing roundabout, traffic lights cannot be justifiable in this location.
Bernard Ellis, Windsor
Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding
PoliticsC’mon, PM, go for gold. Commit Australia to net zero emissions by 2050.
Jenny Smithers, Ashburton
Only the ALP can prevent itself winning the next election, and it’s doing a thorough job of that.
James Meehan, Kew
ScoMo needed another miracle and Albo has gifted it to him.
Clarence Mitchell, Brighton
One party has ethical principles. If you care for Earth and its people, vote Greens.
Virginia Lowe, Ormond
Labor, when you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.
Will Bennett, Ballarat
There’s not much point in having policies that won’t get you elected.
Stephen Baldwin, Frankston
If vaccinated people can pass on COVID, on what basis can you discriminate against the unvaccinated?
Robert Hill, Lower Templestowe
The PM will develop a vaccine plan to lock the stable door now the plague horse has bolted.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn
With so many truckies entering Victoria without permits, it’s only a matter of time until lockdown 6.
David O’Reilly, Park Orchards
Australians, please get vaccinated and wear your masks properly for all our sakes.
Donna Tsironis, Blackburn South
Gladys Ledecky started well but Dan Titmus has come storming home to claim the gold standard.
Greg Chambers, North Fitzroy
Can our states be mates, we’re all Australians.
Ron Mather, Melbourne
Congratulations, Ariarne, for again passing the Titmus test.
Linton Edwards, Ivanhoe East
Move over, boys. The girls have arrived.
Ewa Haire, Moonee Ponds
I haven’t seen many women presenting medals. Where is the gender balance?
Geoff Oliver, East Malvern
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