Like many others, I watched the opening ceremonies of the 2026 Winter Olympics on my television over the weekend.
I was moved by the calls for peace and the sheer talent and beauty created by the countless dancers, artists, technicians and more.
The combination of stunning visuals, with messages of hope for peacetime, created the perfect conditions for one to admire humanity’s ability to come together from across the globe, uniting in more than sport, but in the shared value of excellence.
For a moment I marveled at this show of unity. I was able to relax and take my mind off the current crises plaguing our nation.
Then I remembered what I heard during PBS News Hour that same evening: the U.S. was holding indirect nuclear talks with Iran amid escalating threats and a buildup of U.S. forces in the region; the effects of the Trump administration’s suspension of immigration visas for citizens from 75 countries.
The everyday national headlines prove to be a sharp contrast to the wondrous spirit of the Olympic games.
I admire and congratulate the Olympic athletes currently taking up residence in Milan, who have reached pinnacles that most of us will only dream of. But I wonder, having closed our borders for a litany of countries that are surely in attendance, what will be the legacy of this resurgence of nationalism and xenophobia?
Will U.S. athletes be welcome at future Olympic games, and how, in abiding by our current policies will we ever be considered to host Olympic games? Or the World Cup, for that matter? Invite some athletes, but not others?
While we blackball citizens from other countries for what appears to be entirely subjective reasons, we have strengthened our military presence overseas. We bombed Venezuela whilst kidnapping their President, Nicolas Maduro, as well as his wife, Cilia Flores.
The nation seems to have moved on alarmingly fast from this event. I do not think our neighbors on this continent will do the same.
A recent discussion came up in the office, of memories of cold war nuclear drills, something to which I could only compare the active-shooter threat drills I began in kindergarten, and never ceased until graduating.
From age five to eighteen, I was prepared to be shot at, bombed, chemically attacked and more. I can only hope in my lifetime there will be a day of no conflict, bombs or nuclear threats looming over humanity.
But I was never prepared for that day, and I worry for future generations.
I will be 25 next month, and for almost my entire lifetime, the United States has been a warring nation.
When I look to D.C., I see no signs of a de-escalation in rhetoric or action.
I see no signs of ending the plague of gun violence the nation’s children have been subjected to for my entire lifetime.
I see no signs of stopping the neverending oil wars and decreasing our military presence in the Middle East.
I am young, and perhaps I have to wait it out to see things come full circle. But I wonder, at what cost? The psyches and lives of kindergarteners across the nation? The Palestinian people? The sovereignty of Ukraine?
Again, perhaps I am too young, and have more to learn, but what will it take for us to evolve beyond war, war and more war?
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
