Many of us were captivated over the last week and a half by the feats of the likes of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and the gymnastics of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Yet the Olympics, at least as far as they have played out, serve an important educational function, at least to Americans, who often have their global horizons limited to sound bytes and cable news round ups.

The lengthy opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad was a testament to the endurance of not only the athletes from the 204 countries that walked along the floor of China's “Bird's Nest” arena in Beijing, but also for every American who tuned into NBC two Fridays ago for the ceremonies who saw the spectacular lighting of the Olympic flame, hours after the start of the entrances.

Yet, subconsciously, for a nation that usually scores below average when it comes to geographic knowledge internationally (two years ago one report had it that 63 percent of Americans 18-24 couldn't find Iraq on a map, nearly 90 percent couldn't find Afghanistan - a region we had been in combat in for nearly four years), it was an opportunity to think globally.

The roll call of nations allowed Americans to see firsthand where certain countries were and, depending on the play by play from commentators, learn a fact or two about the nation. Also, that night, Americans heard more about the Russian invasion of neighboring Georgia earlier that day, than they would have if the games weren't on. So for a country that may focus on just Europe, China, Japan and the Middle East, the world opened up just a little more.

If you want to know the meaning of the greatest democracy in the world #- one need look no further than the athletes and many of their coaches in Beijing. It is one thing to say that Americans have produced some of the best competitors in the world #- we have #- but often, as has been seen in the these Olympic Games, they come from other nations, some naturalized within the last few years to become American citizens, many, notably, in equestrian and track events.

What has been just as interesting to note is the number of athletes competing for countries, both First and Third world, who live in the United States, but have gone back to their native lands to participate in this Olympiad.

So while the United States can be criticized for much at this time on the foreign policy front, its basic idea of openness may be the strongest message to come from these games for the entire world to see. You want to see a model global community #- it is best exemplified by this nation.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com