Random Blog

Here is my random blog one, about the olympics in Chicago

While the mayor has been running around the city touting the Olympics in what many feel to be an attempt to secure a legacy for himself, many have been asking, “Why do we need the Olympics? “ It is a good question. And there is a good answer. At this moment in history, there exists a chance to do a great good for the people of this city. Show the world that we are indeed not the “second city.” A chance to prove once again to the world that we in Chicago can be a “perfect white city,” as we were for those brief months during the World’s Fair over a hundred years ago. Or we could host the Olympics, and plunge the city into a canyon of debt that we may not emerge from for another hundred years.
I argue that, rather than spend the incredible amount of money (and it will be an incredible amount of money- the 2012 games are already set to cost London 5.3 Billion pounds, or 8.5 Billion US dollars) we should give the money to the city, and fix many of the problems that plague Chicago, problems like crime and poor schools. This is what is needed. This is what all of this money should do; it should not build temporary buildings to house pools, but permanent buildings to house families. Let us not use this great sum to build structures intended to glorify athletes; let us build a community whose very existence glorifies mankind.
Let us build schools, fund after school programs, and, rather than give the children of this city a fleeting, two week extravaganza, let us give them a chance at a future. Let us train them to work, and work to instill in them the values of hard work and personal achievement. Let us do things like make them safe, and hire adequate numbers of police officers, firemen, and paramedics.
Let’s hire teachers that can get the job done. Let’s give them things like computers, books, and working sports equipment. Let’s allow there to be gym classes all week, as the state requirement mandates, a requirement that thus far the city has ignored.
If we spend our billions on programs like these than host a sporting competition. We can actually help people. We can give the homeless homes, the hopeless hope, and the ignorant knowledge. We can make a better tomorrow for Chicago’s youth.
Of course, I do not believe that $8.5 billion will solve all of the city’s problems. There will still be poor, still be crime, and still be indigent. There will still be poor. There will still be people who will squander their talents on crime, drugs, and alcohol. There will still be those that will seek to harm others. But there will be less of them.