A couple of things grabbed my attention during the Olympics that fit right in with the conclusion of the book. For some background, the 10,000m race has been dominated by athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, and other East African nations for decades. Prior to that it was Europeans. In fact, a US runner hadn't metaled in the 10K since 1964. But this year, a US runner, Galen Rupp, coached by Alberto Salazar, finally made it on the podium.
Some quotes following the race:
For Galen and Alberto, the silver medal was a work in progress that started in 2000 when Galen met Alberto as a freshman at Central Catholic High School in Portland. They have worked together ever since and dreamed of tonight with Alberto planning for it all along. Galen said, "What makes him so great is he is willing to adapt. He never leaves any stone unturned. He is meticulous in his plan. This has been a long buildup. ... I remember talking about this with him in high school. ... He said, 'This is going to take a long time. We're not going to take any shortcuts or do anything to go after short term rewards.' He takes a really long-term gradual approach and I think today he showed that pays off. I'm forever indebted to him. He's like a father figure to me. ... He's an unbelievable man."
On final getting the elusive American medal, Alberto said, "I absolutely believe starting twenty years ago American and Western Europeans had a defeatist attitude. They thought the East Africans were so good and there was just an onslaught of East Africans and they got so much better and for whatever other reasons the Americans and the Brits went through a little bit of a lull. Not only the East Africans running faster than anyone ever before, but now the Americans and Brits and Europeans were running slower, so all of sudden you had this huge gap and there really shouldn't be that gap. Back thirty years ago there weren't as many East Africans, but there still a lot of very good ones and they weren't any better than the best Europeans and Americans. I don't believe all of a sudden they were genetically better. I think a lot was psychological. I think Americans and Europeans just gave up. Another big problem I believe was there's too many people who use the excuse of drugs, that anyone who runs fast is on drugs. The second you start thinking that as a coach or as an athlete you're basically saying you're not good enough to compete with other people unless you cheat. What I've always told our guys is 'Don't believe all that bull. Those are the losers that say that.' Rather than trying to change their own training to get better they use that as excuse and it's a defeatist attitude. A lot of the mind-set for us was 'We can beat these guys. We've just got to train smart.'"
This of course brings to mind the language used by Paul:
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.This language is made practical at the end of Douthat's book as well:
To make any difference in our common life, Christianity must be lived - not as a means to social cohesion or national renewal, but as an end unto itself. Anyone who seeks a more perfect union should begin by seeking the perfection of their own soul.
That quest begins with a single step - over the threshold of your local church, back through the confessional door, or simply into an empty room for a moment's silent prayer.Those simple steps are what make a habit, which in turn is what makes a life.
The future of American religion depends on believers who can demonstrate, in word and deed alike, that the possibilities of the Christian life are not exhausted by TV preachers and self-help gurus, utopians, and demagogues. It depends on public examples of holiness, and public demonstrations of what the imitation of Christ can mean for a fallen world. We are waiting, not for another political savior or television personality, but of a Dominic or Francis, an Ignatius or a Wesley, a Wilberforce or a Newman, a Bonhoeffer or a Solzhenitsyn. Only sanctity can justify Christianity's existence; only sanctity and make a case for faith; only sanctity, or the hope thereof, cam ultimately redeem the world.And I end with this quote:
"Time and time again, Chesterton noted, 'the Faith has to all appearance gone to the dogs.' But each time, 'it was the dog that died.'"
