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August 07, 2008
Beijing Olympics 2008...
...Are finally here.
I have been crowing about the Olympics here at outofhans.com for some time now. I am, as you might have guessed, a big fan of the Summer Games. (And the Winter ones too!) It is time now to put aside politics, and let sportsmanship take over, let the world come together as one, and work together. (To beat the Russians!) Sorry. Sorry.
But as I cheer our athletes, and athletes from other nations, something gnaws at me. I want to put human rights aside. I want to move past the horrors of the Tienanmen Square tragedy. But I can't. I can't turn away from what the Chinese people have done, and continue to do to their people. China isn't America. We need to stop trying to make other countries and cultures like America. We need to respect that the Chinese have a type of government that differs from our own. We may not understand it, we may not like it, but we have to respect it. We do not, however, have to respect torture. False imprisonment. The violent quashing of ideas. If China wants to be a world player (and they have been for some time) there are some rules they have to follow. Does America follow these rules? Not hardly. But we are somewhat more transparent than the Chinese, so at least we've got that going for us. China, the world is watching now. We know what you have done, and we know what you are capable of doing. Do not let these two weeks end without positive, meaningful change. If you do, you'll get a Gold Medal.
That being said, I will probably be asleep when the Opening Ceremonies take place. No matter. NBC will have them covered, and we will be watching at our first annual Olympic Opening Ceremonies Party! Pics to follow!
See you tomorrow!
Go USA!
Posted by Jon at August 7, 2008 09:25 PM