I think the Olympics do a good job of bringing the world together on a stage where we can set aside our differences, ignore the "foreign policies" of our elected leaders, and settle disputes via an objective sporting event.

While each nation displays their national pride, culture, and heritage; for a couple of weeks every four years we realize that we have much more in common than we think.

It is certainly true that the Olympics have served as a platform for the political expression of many nations much like what we have seen from Chinese during the current Beijing games. From Berlin, to Moscow, to Los Angeles, all of these competitions have given us a small window into the political climate of that era. Having said all this the Olympics is one of the very few times when all nations are able to put aside (theoretically anyways) their differences and embrace an innate sense of competitive drive already present within the whole of humanity.

I'd say the Olympics offer a taste (however slight) of so many cultures to people/viewers around the world. This limited exposure of two weeks more or less to the culture of China in addition to the various other nations whose athletes' stories and personalities we get to know from the televised coverage of the games is a positive step in the direction of chipping away at the walls of prejudice and bigotry that divide cultural, racial, religious, and national groups.

The Olympics games is an invaluable forum where the nations of the world can come together under one roof and compete together at the highest level athletically bereft of the violence and destruction that tends to accompany political or religious conflicts.

I think that the world can benefit from the Olympic spirit but I also believe the participants themselves benefit more than anyone else. It's an intense feeling of competition and camaraderie that one feels when witnessing such an event. You cannot help but come away more hopeful than you did before entering each arena. It's the only event in the world where one roots as much for their country's best as well as the eventual winners. It's a thrill beyond belief when someone takes the floor, the pool, the rink, the track and all of the other venues and watches the one small man or woman from a far off land bring us their best for one moment in time. I can only hope the world will benefit from that type of atmosphere not only for two weeks but forever.

The Olympic Games sometimes causes nations to behave in positive ways that may be out of character. For example, China has opened up its country like never before to show the world its heritage and culture and what it has in common with other nations, moving away from its normal totalitarian behavior. Now the Chinese want to talk to the Dalai Lama about Tibet. Because politics cannot be separated from Olympic activity, the Games can provide a platform for communication between countries with different points of view. President Bush recently discussed the recent war between Georgia and Russia with Russian Prime Minister Putin at the Games. Basically, mix together people from all of the world and put them on the same field, and you have one world. (Begin sappy music.)

One of te few ties we set aside our diifrences to come together for peace and competion. It brings us together if only for a shot time.

I think it further divides our world. The trash talking between the athletes and subsequent "foot in mouth" from the French 4x100 Freestyle Men's Relay team was a classic example of this division.

French and Americans notoriously dislike each other. The French said they were going to "Smash" the Americans, thus creating further discontent between the two nations. When the US ended up winning the Gold Americans not only felt a sense of pride in winning, but also in beating the French.

Combine that with China's militaristic style of athletic training to prove to the world that China is a superpower once again, and I think you have a lot of ill will towards other nations being "masked" as friendly Olympic competition.

Let's be honest, each country wants their country to win each event and show the rest of the world that they're the most dominant country in the world. There is not "One World" from the eyes of each of the competitors or their respective nations.

I'm not sure the Olympics necessarily "divide us further," but I think the inherent competitiveness of the games kind of precludes any sort of cohesion or increase in good will that a singular event such as a bringing together of multiple countries and cultures might have. When we watch a Zimbabwean long-distance runner neck-in-neck with an American runner, we don't think, "How great these two have found a common ground in athleticism," we just think, "I hope the American guy wins."

Sure we feel empathy and inspiration from the occasional story of say a bobsled team from a desert country, but usually it just proves how our loyalties lie with our own and furthers our depiction of opposing countries in our mind as "the other." So, while it is nice we can all ostensibly get along for a few weeks, when we watch the national processions with each country's athletes decked out in their traditional garb, we still see groups such as Iran and we still think, "Wow, I hope they don't bomb Israel."