Freedom & Religion

I'm going to start a fire from the start. Even some good friends will disagree with me after a few sentences, but here goes..

China has been a hot topic of late. Business Week (www.businessweek.com) had a big splash about this mysterious country marvelling about how life seems so free and yet.... But, well their human rights abuses are getting better, blah, blah, blah. The bottom line in their view: capitalism and democracy don't have to have one another to exist.

Tom Peters thinks that we need to accept China, embrace China. He is wrong.

China and the U.S. have an unholy alliance. America, in her desire for cheap things have chosen to look the other way while China has abused it's own people. It is the people buying at Wal-Mart who are making this choice every day. We would be mad if G.W. or Clinton or anyone else interfered with our $15 toaster.

But there is no cheap lunch. The U.S. faces a foreign government not constrained by certain moral imperitives (human value for one) who is rich with American money to buy power in the form of major weapons.

I believe the boat has left the dock on this choice. China does not act like a friend to the U.S. in too many ways to name here. Any chance to encourage change for the better has been lost.

There is not Freedom in China. There is business in China. Business that can become the government's tomorrow.

Cheap toasters today, expensive choices tomorrow.