If the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were testimony to the violence and hate that can grow inside the darkest corners of the human heart, Friday’s opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City illustrated the human ability to illuminate the globe with ideals of peace and love that ripen within our passions.

During that ceremony, a 12-year-old boy, referred to as the Child of Light, was introduced to the world to represent the ability of the human spirit to overcome life’s adversities.

The boy will remain the embodiment of the 2002 Olympic theme throughout the games until the closing ceremony Feb. 24.

Perhaps now, more than ever, the concept and spirit of the Olympic Games bring a sense of comfort and peace to the human soul that is hard to come by in a violent and uncertain world.

As Americans, the events of Sept. 11 destroyed our sense of safety within our national borders. On that day, our eyes awoke to see the horrors of terrorism aren’t partial to other countries.

The Child of Light was preceded in the ceremony’s procession by President Bush and an honor guard of U.S. athletes and New York police officers and firefighters, who ushered in the torn and tattered U.S. flag recovered from the ashes of the World Trade Center.

Organizers had hoped to raise the battered colors during the ceremony, but its frail condition made the task impossible.

Although the flag didn’t fly, its presence was a sobering reminder of the hurt our country has suffered during the past four months and our yearning to find peace once again to bandage our wounds.

Thankfully, we have friends around the world and are not alone in those efforts.

For instance, the French athletic delegation marched into the stadium flying a double-sided flag baring their own red, white and blue bars on one side and the stars and stripes on the other.

Certainly, the notions of brother and sisterhood inherent in the spirit of the games have not dimmed.

We host these Olympic Games during a unique period in our country’s history - times that stand in stark contrast to the American worldview held 22 years ago when Lake Placid, N.Y., played host city in the shadows of the Cold War.

Just like the “Miracle on Ice” that occurred during those games when the U.S. men’s hockey team defeated the U.S.S.R., America will again rise to the challenge of being a beacon for hope and peace in the world.

These games offer a healing opportunity for our country.

Within the themes of peace, unity, respect and hope that are born out of the Olympic spirit, we can find those therapeutic tools.

The games offer a break from the politics and other concepts that divide us as humans.

It is in the ideas of mutual respect and competitive spirit we can stand tall and proud.