Olympics Essay

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The Olympics are supposed to be a time of peace and a time where countries could come together and be free from politics. The Olympics are also a time where nations should put away their differences and celebrate the reason why they came to participate in the games, which was to play sports. Throughout history, many of the Olympics have lived up to this expectation. At the same time, there have also been some Olympics that have not lived up to this expectation because they have been experienced boycotts, political protests, and even violence. The politics in the Olympics need to be kept out because it there is no place for it. The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow is an example of one Olympics that was not free from politics because of the boycott started by the U.S.
The turmoil that resulted in the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow started when the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan overthrew Mohammed Zahir Shah. Muhammad Taraki took over as president and made socialist reforms, which provoked Islamic rebels known as the mujahideen to resist. Taraki was killed and Hafizullah Amin took control over the government. Although the Soviet government chose Amin to be the new leader, they realized that he had to be overthrown because they considered him a threat. They believed that Amin was not loyal to the Soviet Union so they had to get rid of him. In order to get rid of Amin and seize control of the government, they launched an invasion of Afghanistan.
Although overthrowing Hafizullah Amin was a big reason why the Soviet government invaded Afghanistan, there were many other reasons. The Soviet Union was looking to free the communists in Afghanistan by fighting Islamic fundamentalism. The Soviet Union thought that an ex...

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...en, along with their wives, protested by deciding not to go support the U.S in the Olympics due to the anti-gay laws in Russia. Instead, President Obama sent former athletes who are gay and lesbian, to represent as U.S delegates.
Although the Olympics are supposed to be a time of sports and peace between nations, political differences sometimes could get in the way. These political differences tend to ruin the Olympics as it just acts as another reason for countries to argue. The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow was ruined when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. As a result, the U.S along with sixty-five other nations boycotted the Olympics, which led to Soviet Union boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. The tensions between the U.S and Russia are still present today and were noticeable during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

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