2008 Olympics: Drumming-Up Trouble?

So I'm watching the 2008 Olympics opening ceremonies and China has 2008 drummers playing in unison. And Bob Costas goes, "It's a little intimidating." He talked about how they were told to smile more, "which took the edge off a little bit. A little bit." Previously, Tom Brokaw delivered the introductory country profile, and ended with, "You just never know what the Chinese government is going to do."

So... who hid the Valium?

Okay, China - politically-speaking (human rights and all) - is an Evil country. Politically-speaking, it really is; in D&D, it would be Lawful Neutral (though its leaders would tend more toward Lawful Evil; the Communist code and so forth is LN). There is a lot of unrest there because of this and the Chinese government cannot deny that, no matter how hard they try. I feel for the citizens and I wish things were different in many ways, but there is nothing I can do about that. Plus, I don't know the real situation there, as I do not live there and have never visited, so I'm fit neither to judge nor offer suggestions.

As the NBC commentators pointed out, hosting the 2008 Olympics in China is a huge step forward for the country - politically, socially, in all ways. And China is, as I stated above, aware of their issues as a nation, as well as what the other world thinks of them. In the times leading up to the Games, Chinese flag sales have risen 30%. Tom Brokaw said these games could be a 'huge step forward or two colossal steps back,' and I want to cement that point before I chide him for making it:

The 2008 Olympics could be the best thing for China in our collective lifetime - for themselves as a country, and for their country within the world community. To be sure, they have a long way to go, but this is a huge advancement! They should be commended for it and making stern, snide remarks is not the way to do that. Yes, things could go dramatically bad... possibly (though I really hate to say it because it's so reactionary) catastrophically so - but I sincerely hope not and I think most everyone else feels the same.

American color commentators are infamous for eating feet, and I can only imagine how nervous they must be, but allow me to point out that playing the "jaundiced eye" game is not going to help matters one bit. Personally, I would not have attended the games because of that very fear, but I am glad we, as a country, chose to participate in the 2008 Olympics and I support that decision 1000%! So, now that we are there, American talking heads, please don't let them all know how deeply arrested your development is.

Please try to remember you are, in some Divinely comedic way, sort-of representing us all and "informing" a lot of Americans who don't have to remove even one shoe to count up to the grade they dropped-out of - some of them don't even have to use their other hand! (But they will.) Let's stick to the facts and drop the political commentary, huh?

© C Harris Lynn, 2008