KungPowThinking

I just read this article from Voice of America about a press conference with the Dalai Lama. In the press conference the Dalai Lama  “urged the world community to  accept China into its  ranks  while staying firm on issues of human rights and  democracy.” Concerning the issue of Tibetian independence, the article goes on to say that the Dalai Lama “only wants autonomy and religious freedom for that region.”

Doing some googling, I’ve found that the Dalai Lama has consistently focused his energy on the issue of religious freedom in Tibet via peaceful means. I like it. Being an “American” I have to admit that freedom can come after violence, but I don’t think it always has to be that way. I think the Dalai Lama has it right. He wants everyone to take the high road, to erase the artificial boundaries of politics, so that we can see people as people and treat them accordingly. According to an article in the Guardian back in April, he called creating hatred among the Chinese by disrupting the Olympic games “futile”. Probably because creating hatred is futile period.

This gets to some points I’ve made about how protesting the Olympics really pisses me off. The games are supposed to be about human triumph, not about politics. I guess that makes me sound like an idealist, but really… the Olympics are fun. I don’t care which country or sports you watch, there are great stories throughout the games. From Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian to the fact that there are countries so small that most people in the world have never heard of them competing without a real chance to win. The Olympics are one of the very very few venues where people from around the world can come together to celebrate being people. Anything that diminishes that is a shame, especially when the people doing it are the ones who supposedly believe it the most.