I am disgusted by the latest edict handed down by US Olympic officials.

American athletes have been warned not to wave the U.S. flag during their medal celebrations at this summer's Olympic Games in Athens, for fear of provoking crowd hostility and harming the country's already-battered public image.

The spectacle of victorious athletes grabbing a national flag and parading it around the stadium is a familiar part of international sporting competition, but U.S. Olympic officials have ordered their 550-strong team to exercise restraint and avoid any jingoistic behavior.
...

"What I am telling the athletes is, 'Don't run over and grab a flag and take it round the track with you.' It's not business as usual for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national flag and runs round the track or holds it high over their heads, it might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another manner."

In other words, you should be ashamed of being an American. You should be ashamed of your country. If you show any pride in America or her countrymen, if you celebrate either of their accomplishements, you will be punished.

Hey, why don't we change the team uniforms, too - we should remove the red, white and blue so as to not offend anyone. A solid solemn black uniform should do the trick. While we're at it, I suppose that we should remove the US flag from the uniforms as well. Oh, and make sure that our athletes know that they should never, ever, win an event - if you're leeading an event, if you're even in the top 10, pull back! Let another country win! We don't want to incite the crowd! The world already hates America, let's not "rub it in!"

Uggh. I'm left speechless, my mouth gaping as I stare ahead in horror and disbelief.

What can it say. Let Freedom Ring.