Like so many people around the world, I was totally blown away not only by Olympic skater Yuna Kim's performance on the ice in Sochi but even more so by her cool and classy performance off it. While her fellow Korean countrymen complained vociferously that their national idol had been robbed of the gold medal for women's figure skating, Kim, 23, graciously and gratefully accepted the runner-up silver without a hunt of whine.

How rare is this in sports or, for that matter, in politics?

Take Kim's suddenly troubled neighborhood of East Asia. Everyone knows the details. The quarrels over paternity and ownership of islands (which may or may not be so rich in minerals and thus scarcely worth fighting over). The growing tension on the high seas. The new claims — by China — of air exclusion zones. It is anything but a pretty picture.