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Olympics--Duelling Dreams
A link to one of the few truly balanced articles on the Olympics:
http://thechinabeat.blogspot.com/2008/07/duelling-dreams-at-2008-beijing.html
Be warned that it takes a fair amount of time to go through this entire article, especially if you actually watch all of the videos. Just my opinion, of course, but I would suggest that it's well worth the effort.
My own background is this: I am an American ex-pat. I have lived in Asia for the past ten years, the last four of which have been in China. During this time I have been alternately frustrated, amused, and shocked by the stereotypes Westerners have about China, and by how tenaciously these stereotypes are clung to despite [I'm sorry to say] a working knowledge of China that is, well ... somewhat limited. How many people could, just off hand, name the President of China?
I would suggest that the world right now is facing some monumental problems. It seems apparent that we have, or will soon have, used more than half of the world's oil reserves. This will have huge implications for the world's economy as well as for the world's food supplies [much of the world's fertilizer, as well as herbicides and pesticides come from fossil fuels]. Meanwhile, previous emissions of carbon dioxide have already begun to trigger feedback loops which guarantee an increase in global warming which will take at least a generation to play out, which, when coupled with the effects of global dimming, will further exacerbate agricultural resources.
http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/globaldimming.asp
It seems to me that, in lieu of solving these problems, the world has a distinct possibility of degenerating into a series of Resource Wars. I cannot imagine how we can overcome global problems while at the same time clinging to black-and-white images of “our side” being “good” and the “other side” being “evil.”
Hopefully, this will serve as a beginning point for some thought, some discussion, and for the relaxation of some clinging. No one can think clearly when their fists are clenched. And clinging, after all, causes suffering. I read that somewhere.
Some relevant quotes from “duelling dreams”:
I would like to suggest that the ongoing controversy surrounding the Games is a reflection of two competing social imaginaries which go well beyond the swimming pool and the track and are deeply rooted in how China sees its place in the world and how the rest of the world views China.
....
... Asked if he believes Shangri-la exists, the Indian doctor replies: “Yes. Yes, I believe it. I believe it because I want to believe it.” In other words, there is no need to concern yourself with the reality of China or Tibet when you can create your own version of Shangri-la in the back lots of a Burbank studio.
....
In sum, we can best understand the ongoing political drama surrounding the Beijing Olympics as a clash of competing worldviews: for the Chinese, the games are a battle ground for upholding national dignity and the rewriting of past historical crimes; for the West, the games are yet another opportunity for it to project its unrealistic fantasies of fear and desire on the Chinese people.
[Note: one of the best introductions to Tibetan history is now available free on-line:]
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft2199n7f4&brand=ucpress
“Look how he abused me and beat me,
how he threw me down and robbed me.”
Live with such thoughts, and you live in hate.
“Look how he abused me and beat me,
how he threw me down and robbed me.”
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.
In this world,
hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
ancient and inexhaustible.
You, too, shall pass away.
Knowing this, how can you quarrel?
--Dhammapada
http://thechinabeat.blogspot.com/2008/07/duelling-dreams-at-2008-beijing.html
Be warned that it takes a fair amount of time to go through this entire article, especially if you actually watch all of the videos. Just my opinion, of course, but I would suggest that it's well worth the effort.
My own background is this: I am an American ex-pat. I have lived in Asia for the past ten years, the last four of which have been in China. During this time I have been alternately frustrated, amused, and shocked by the stereotypes Westerners have about China, and by how tenaciously these stereotypes are clung to despite [I'm sorry to say] a working knowledge of China that is, well ... somewhat limited. How many people could, just off hand, name the President of China?
I would suggest that the world right now is facing some monumental problems. It seems apparent that we have, or will soon have, used more than half of the world's oil reserves. This will have huge implications for the world's economy as well as for the world's food supplies [much of the world's fertilizer, as well as herbicides and pesticides come from fossil fuels]. Meanwhile, previous emissions of carbon dioxide have already begun to trigger feedback loops which guarantee an increase in global warming which will take at least a generation to play out, which, when coupled with the effects of global dimming, will further exacerbate agricultural resources.
http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/globaldimming.asp
It seems to me that, in lieu of solving these problems, the world has a distinct possibility of degenerating into a series of Resource Wars. I cannot imagine how we can overcome global problems while at the same time clinging to black-and-white images of “our side” being “good” and the “other side” being “evil.”
Hopefully, this will serve as a beginning point for some thought, some discussion, and for the relaxation of some clinging. No one can think clearly when their fists are clenched. And clinging, after all, causes suffering. I read that somewhere.
Some relevant quotes from “duelling dreams”:
I would like to suggest that the ongoing controversy surrounding the Games is a reflection of two competing social imaginaries which go well beyond the swimming pool and the track and are deeply rooted in how China sees its place in the world and how the rest of the world views China.
....
... Asked if he believes Shangri-la exists, the Indian doctor replies: “Yes. Yes, I believe it. I believe it because I want to believe it.” In other words, there is no need to concern yourself with the reality of China or Tibet when you can create your own version of Shangri-la in the back lots of a Burbank studio.
....
In sum, we can best understand the ongoing political drama surrounding the Beijing Olympics as a clash of competing worldviews: for the Chinese, the games are a battle ground for upholding national dignity and the rewriting of past historical crimes; for the West, the games are yet another opportunity for it to project its unrealistic fantasies of fear and desire on the Chinese people.
[Note: one of the best introductions to Tibetan history is now available free on-line:]
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft2199n7f4&brand=ucpress
“Look how he abused me and beat me,
how he threw me down and robbed me.”
Live with such thoughts, and you live in hate.
“Look how he abused me and beat me,
how he threw me down and robbed me.”
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.
In this world,
hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
ancient and inexhaustible.
You, too, shall pass away.
Knowing this, how can you quarrel?
--Dhammapada
0
Comments
As soon as an individual, group or nation becomes a target of generalised hate, I find myself wondering: "What are we projecting onto them that we would do better to own in ourselves?"