This is an auspicious occasion in human history.
2,500 years ago, this year, the ancient Olympic Games began. Throughout the centuries they have represented one of the highest achievements of mankind. But, no one would have dreamed that those storied athletes of the Grecian past would have, as successors, millions and millions of human beings -- mentally handicapped persons -- training and competing in Olympic-style Games and exercises.
By the year 2,000 there well may be 3,000,000 athletes in Special Olympics -- human beings who, in times past, had no chance to compete in any sport, no chance for employment, no chance for marriage, no chance for children, no chance for jobs, no chance for independence, no chance for human dignity.
All this has now changed!
Special Olympics has already opened opportunities for millions, but the growth of Special Olympics and the acceptance by civilized society of the “graduates”, so to speak, of Special Olympics, means that this decade and the next century will witness phenomenal, unprecedented growth in this movement.
All of us thank Greece for the inspiration which made the original Olympics possible. Mrs. Mitsotakis honors us with her presence, and so does your Minister of Sports, Mrs. Fani Palli-Petralia, and all the other dignitaries gathered here. We are grateful for your presence and support.
But our heroes and heroines are the Special Olympic athletes gathered here and their colleagues around the world. Let us celebrate them, and thank them for opening our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to their humanity.
In ancient days and in numerous cultures since then, human beings with mental retardation have been derided, scorned, ostracized, and even killed. In this century mentally retarded persons were systematically put to death in Hitler’s Germany, and even today, in 1991, mentally retarded babies are frequently aborted in nations by people who claim to be civilized.
The International Olympic Committee, however, has courageously endorsed “Special Olympics”. Our Games, our rules, our training manuals have been approved by sports authorities, medical societies, national and religious leaders. But, no approval or moment surpasses this occasion when a symbolic flame is lighted from the Grecian sun, this moment when the Grecian Presidential Guards emphasize by their presence that our Special Olympics are respected and endorsed by the leaders and people of this ancient land and civilization. We thank the President of Greece, the leaders and people of this nation, and the Grecian Special Olympians for making possible this historic occasion. May God bless all of your endeavors, and ours. Together may we succeed in making the 21st century the most compassionate era in human history.
