This image is seared in my memory. A single man, daring to stand atop history. Not yelling “Stop!” (that was the job of William F. Buckley, Jr). Simply standing, 5 June 1989, on Bejing’s Tiananmen Square in an act of peaceful defiance to tyranny and oppresion.
I’m not about to tell the Chinese people how to run their country (or a Free Tibet). However, I have never been comfortable with Nixon’s opening to the Red Communists. In the world of Realpolitik it was better to deal with one devil than two. The Tiananmen Square Protests was a difficult time that could have been alot worse. And these days the Chinese Communists may be more Free Market than our own misguided Administration.
Put that all aside.
We each daily make choices between freedom and safety. Everyone has a different preference on the spectrum between the free will of direct democracy and the protective iron fist of fascism. Yet how can we on the one hand praise democracy while on the other hand doing business with dictators? How can we coddle criminals while we mourn their victims?
People do that in the real world. Maybe it will take the next world before mankind can truely find peace, love and understanding. In the mean time I would hope we could do better.
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STrib
The Economist
Meanwhile, the President of The Netherlands doesn’t want to meet the Dalai Lama, who’s visiting the country. He doesn’t want to disturb the good relationship he’s having with China. Somehow that doesn’t make sense to me. Guess it’s still about suporting the biggest, fittest and strongest. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. And every other cliché I can come up with. You’re right: it’ll take the next world.