Some people have asked me how I feel about all the protests and backlash against China and the upcoming Olympic games so I figured I would write a little bit about it and if folks wanted to comment we could have a little discussion. Let me start off by saying that I agree 100% that there are serious human rights violations occurring in the country. That being said, I think the reaction of many Americans and other western countries towards China is offensive and counter-productive.

First of all, you have to understand that some of the values we hold are not the same as the values held by the average person in China. While we uphold the idea that personal freedoms are the most important thing, most Chinese uphold the idea that the body, the nation, is the most important thing. This is seen in many different ways, most recently in the way the Chinese are uniting against the attacks on their country from Western protesters. It's creating a very polarizing atmosphere and I believe is very detrimental towards all the work that has been done over the last 30 years to get China to where it is now. If this trend continues, we'll get from China exactly what we think is happening now, only it will be real, and probably worse.

In my time spent living in China, I heard many horror stories from survivors of the Cultural Revolution and the tragedies that occurred under Mao Tse-Tsung. I could see first hand that while there is still a lot of progress to be made, things are definitely headed in the right direction. Yes, there is still lots of poverty and horrible things occurring, but compared to just a few decades ago, things have improved in leaps and bounds. While I do think it might be a little too early, having the Olympic Games in Beijing can only lead to good things. It raises awareness both about the good things occurring in China and also the bad things and hopefully will bring these issues to the forefront so they can continue to be addressed in the proper fashion.

I've heard people I know and respect say some horrible things about China and its people and it makes me sad. That's a billion plus people they are writing off and dismissing as vile and evil. Change takes time, folks. Let's keep it rolling in the positive direction. I know it's a complicated issue, especially with the situations in Tibet and Taiwan, but it's definitely not as black and white as some would make it out to be.