Since the start of the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio on Friday, social media has been buzzing with stories of success, heroism, and the occasional tragic ending to a young Olympian's career (I'm looking at you Samir Ait Said). Many of these stories are the standard Olympic rhetoric, transposed generation after generation. However, the Rio Olympics have presented their own unique headlines of contaminated water, inadequate living situations, and more. I mean, just this morning an Olympic kayaker made headlines when his boat capsized after hitting an underwater sofa – hopefully he kept his mouth closed!

As one of the most contested Olympic venues in recent history, the nation has been under scrutiny for its high poverty levels and lack of infrastructure to host as many athletes and tourists as the Olympics bring. However, after the opening ceremony social media was buzzing about a new controversy.

Although I didn't watch the opening ceremonies myself, recaps and images made it look like another Rio Festival. Vibrant colors, amazing dancers, and upbeat music set the stage for an exciting Olympic Games. Yet, the short interruption mid-ceremony was what had people talking.

Amidst the festivities, a short video on climate change was played, demonstrating the catastrophic results of increased temperatures and the resultant melting of polar ice caps leading to a rise in sea level, which could eventually impact both small and major cities, including Dubai and Amsterdam.

While some were thrilled with the addition of the video, and many were simply confused by it, others have taken to Twitter and social media to show their outrage. 17 of the most angry responses have been reported on by Buzzfeed, including:

However, what surprises me more than the inclusion of a global warming video or the ignorance that seems to suggest global warming is pseudo-science, is that people are still surprised by political statements being made at the Olympics.

Every four years the entire world tunes in to the Olympics. It simply has viewership that things like the World Cup or the Grammys don't have. It is an amazing demonstration of globalization as athletes from north, south, east, and west come together to compete. Further, while many of us are loyal to our home nation, the Olympics are a great reminder of the commonalities among people from different walks of life; you may be from Istanbul and I may be from San Antonio but we both agree that women's gymnastics is freaking insane.

So, in all seriousness, why wouldn't you use this opportunity to make a statement? With the entire world watching, it would be simply foolish to not use the global stage to make a point. More so, this is not the first time the Olympics have been used as a platform for political statements.

1936, Berlin

With Germany's Nazi regime in power, the Olympics were used as a platform for Hitler to prove his theory of racial superiority. However, Jesse Owens kind of ruined that plan when he won four gold medals and befriended his German rival, Luz Long.

This famous image of Owens atop the podium is nothing short of haunting. But, you know what else it is? Political. The German allegiance to Hitler's Nazi regime captured in this image is a political statement. Owens's hand raised to his brow as he salutes the USA is a political statement. And this is just one example of how the Olympics have been used as a platform for political gain.

1968, Mexico City

1968 was a turbulent year in history. The Vietnam war raged on, the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia, growing its communist empire, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed and racism ran rampant in the United States. This image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium after placing first and third in the 200 meter sprint is yet another example of a political statement being made on a global platform.

With gloved fist raised in solidarity with the Black Panther movement, Smith and Carlos exposed the racism present in the United States, while simultaneously representing their nation in the games. This iconic image is nothing, but political.

1992, Barcelona

The first Olympics after the end of the Cold War, teams from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia competed separate from the former-Soviet Union's "unified" team. Further, Germany competed as one team for the first time since the 1960s. Post-apartheid South Africa returned to the Olympics after being banned for more than 30 years. The simple makeup of teams in this Olympics was political. While some nations maintained their allegiance to the "unified" formerly-Soviet states, others chose to demonstrate their new emancipation by autonomously representing their nation at the games.

In nearly every Olympic Games, political statements have been made either implicitly or explicitly, and Rio should be no exception. While the Olympics are a time for nations to forget their differences and come together for elite athletic competition, they are not just about sport. The Olympics serve as a unique opportunity to expose the injustices happening universally. They are a time for cultural exchange and for open conversation about the state of our world. It would be irresponsible to not take advantage of the global stage to make a political statement, as has been done so many times in the past.

So, angry Twitter users, I encourage you to change your tune. Stop looking at political propaganda as a solely negative thing. Instead, consider that all political statements and propaganda occurring on this international stage are a legitimate representation of the current state of the world. We live in difficult times and while the Olympics make it easy to forget the turbulence happening across the world, we must remember that the political statements made in past Olympics were not simply for show. Maybe it's time we wake up and instead of criticizing Rio for its statement on global warming, we applaud them for taking a stand on a very real issue that will have detrimental effects on each of us in our lifetime.