Olympics!

The Olympics open today! 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China!

Say what you will about China. Say what you will about the games. But this is pretty much a big deal, boys and girls.

Freedom-loving people don't need to think about whether or not they'd want to live in China (can I get a HELL-no?). They've done some pretty nasty stuff recently. In Tibet ("Beat the protestors until they get happy!"). In the alleys of Beijing ("Destroy all the housing and move the residents elsewhere so we can build the pole-vault"). And they've simply been criminally negligent in maintaining rural infrastructure ("It's just a school full of children. We have too many of those anyway, so if it falls down no biggie").

But...I think you can argue they've come a ways from the reign of Mao. I heard recently on NPR that the Olympics is often a stepping stone towards becoming a functioning democracy (except in cases like Hitler's Berlin...but say no more), instead of a reward for achieving it. The fact they're having to deal with the public saying, "Wait, you're assholes...why shouldn't we boycott the Olympics?" has shifted the perspective for China.

It's made them aware of the international spotlight...and I don't think you can just ignore the effects of that sort of scrutiny, even after it stops. So go watch the shotput, and don't feel guilty about it. It's all part of the bigger picture.