(The following was written in 1984 after my attendance at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Prior to each Olympiad, the world prays the Olympic spirit will prevail and remain until the final medal is awarded. This month's Olympics (2004) is a more dangerous and complicated celebration, but could the following be apropos today?) A solitary runner brought the 90,000 spectators to their feet, section by section, as he laboriously circled the oval Coliseum track. The gold medal in this distance race would be claimed nearly 30 minutes earlier and when this lone Olympian crossed the finish line, the billion or so people from around the world witnessing the Games would never see him make it there.But in the Los Angeles Coliseum that warm evening, the entire crowd, a cross section of the world's cultures, stood and cheered a long-distance runner from an obscure country whose name no one will ever recall. The chills I experienced at that moment came from awareness that I was witnessing a charitable, Olympian effort by us in the audience.To cheer passionately for an unknown competitor who is laps behind the rest of the field — that, I thought, is what the ancient Greeks had in mind for these games. And if they didn't, they should have!I believe the Olympics hold high esteem because we envision such great potential for them. We see there is a remote possibility they could actually bring nations closer together, not just the athletes who participate. This belief is born from our experience of witnessing at these games (and other venues) sensibility override people's differences.That dream faded slightly with the recent boycotts by two superpowers. How can we accomplish unity if everyone isn't at the unity meeting? Fortunately, all involved in '84 were able to overlook Olympic demons and salvage some unity among the 140 nations.As I left the Coliseum after the final day's events, I couldn't help but wonder why, if Christmas truces are called in war and differences forgotten for 16 Olympic days, twice every four years, why isn't it possible to put down our arms forever? It's a shame on all of us.Now that the games are over, the next four years will be turned over to their opponents. Back in the news will be drug-related stories, the hypocrisy of allowing East-bloc professionals to compete against our amateurs, and the hypocrisy of claiming our athletes are amateurs when we know different!Despite the pains, there is a glimmer of hope that the Olympics is striving to overcome its adversities. In our modern world there are few such obvious opportunities to enrich the human race.The athletes have proved it can be done, however, if only on a smaller scale. At Mexico City in 1968, athletes were directed to watch the closing ceremonies of the XIX Olympiad from the stands. But they felt an urge to celebrate the events as one, and soon participants from all the nations were climbing over the protective barriers to join hands on the field. This was a first, but not a last show of emotion as we so vividly witnessed in the mutual celebration at this year's closing ceremonies. We can only hope the lesson does not go unnoticed.