Do just one brave thing today… and …
So, the Olympic torch made it to Tiananmen Square today. I seriously do not know how anything remotely related to the Olympics can be celebrated in the Square where thousands lost their lives for nothing more than protesting the communist government and asking for democracy and reform. I used to believe that the Olympics held a symbolism of hope and good will to mankind. I guess I am wrong. Like so many other things it has become a disembodied symbol that has more to do with money than with the original message it hoped to spread. Do you remember watching the events unfold? I do. I will never forget the one brave man who tried to block the tanks from coming into the square. As much as I abhor the Chinese government, I must say that there are some very courageous souls who live there.
Tiananmen Square is now famous for the 1989 Massacre and for having the world’s Olympic Torch arrive there. Talk about cognitive dissonance at it’s very finest. In China, the Torch is not the only thing burning, unfortunately. Human rights violations are not a thing that ended with the Massacre. They are still happening today. How ’bout they toss a few monks bodies on the Torch to keep it flaming while it’s still there? Disgusting.
I have always had, somewhere on my blog, the saying “do just one brave thing today… then run like hell.” The man who tried to block those tanks did about the bravest thing I ever witnessed, and he did not run that day. His bravery and actions that day are a much closer symbol of what the Olympics have meant to me over my lifetime.
This post brought tears to my eyes. I think of the Buddhist monks trying to lead their lives in Tibet being slaughtered as I write this, the Tiananmen Square disadents that are still in prison, Tiawan is living under a cloud of invasion, and I wonder who could possibly see the Olypmics taking place there - can see any spirit of the Olympics.
FG, I know what you mean. When I read that the Torch was being celebrated there the first image in my head was that of the man in the picture (and the aftermath pictures of those who were killed). Then I had a picture of the monks weeping in protest. You and I are patriotic people… I think we can deeply empathize with patriots who long for freedom and a Country where they can live out their convictions without the fear of their Government killing them or imprisoning them for their beliefs and ideas.
Of course, it would have been nice if the Greek government would have just said “No. You can’t have the Olympic flame. Get your own.”
That would have been too human rights conscious of them.