The Sochi Winter Olympic Games have been shrouded in negativity. If you had a news alert set up for something like “Sochi” AND “controversy” OR “problems” you’d be getting bombarded with emails by the minute. The Twitter handle @SochiProblems has amassed more than 250,000 followers in four days. That’s 100,000 more than the official @Sochi2014 account, which is over four years old.

While I agree that there is more than a laundry list of problems regarding the Sochi Olympics, unfinished construction, homophobia, terror threats and so on and so forth, I challenge everyone to look at the Games through a different lens. Without the Sochi Olympics, groups like ‘Occupy Paedophilia’ would be conducting their activities without the scrutiny of millions of people. Without the Sochi Olympics, many people would probably still not know about the treacheries of Dokka Umarov. Without the Olympics, the stories of the living conditions of those who call Sochi home would be untold.

What the Olympics have always done is bring the international community together. They provide an opportunity, or a platform, for discussion. Issues that would have otherwise not been addressed, or gone on business as usual, come to the forefront of international debate. The Atlantic says “The [Sochi] Winter Games are serving as a barometer for the international politics of LGBT rights.” This is fantastic! Without international discourse, there is no chance for international issues to progress.

All too often we get caught up in what is wrong with a situation without looking at the opportunity that situation allows. It’s horrifying to think that there could be a terror attack during the Games. It’s deplorable to think that people are being persecuted for their sexual orientation during the Games. It’s devastating to read the stories of the living conditions of locals. But at least we are more educated on these topics now than we were last week, or month, or year.

Here’s the challenge: 1) Trust the authorities to prevent a terror attack. 2) Sign a petition to support LGBTQ rights. 3) Talk to your community about what these issues mean to you. 4) Be thankful that these issues are at the forefront of international discussion, and hope that they move forward because of them.

I’m confident that thousands of journalists scrutinized the Opening Ceremonies for what went wrong, rather than reporting on what went well. Sure, a ring was missing, but remember the cauldron in Vancouver was problematic to light too. Let’s remember how incredible the 2010 Olympics were, even though it was hard to light the flame that ignited the Games.