For the past 17 days, we have enjoyed the televised Paris Olympics. Ah, how wholesome, how elegant, how enjoyable the venues, the athletes and the decorum. Even the advertisements – so well-crafted and human – about folks like us. And the ads were so superior to the expensive, mainly loud and brash ads promoting the Super Bowl.

All this until the closing ceremonies, which were equally lovely, until came the handoff to the American Los Angeles 2028 production. Tom Cruise’s descent from the roof of the Stade de France, brave enough, followed by his motorcycle odyssey to Hollywood, was only the first of misplaced spectacles. Brash, crude, coarse performances by “musicians” – half-clad, in some instances, or looking worse-clad with every scene set on some beach in California. What a raunchy spectacle portraying California as representative of the United States.

I am embarrassed at what this rich and talented country showed the world Sunday evening. The French word is “déclassé.” Absolument!

Lorraine Masure
Sanford