Wow! You go China!

I hope you all had a chance to catch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies last night. Even on TV they were unbelievably amazing. I found myself tearing up at the pride of the Chinese people. This was their moment and they nailed it! If you have not been there or lived there, you can not understand how proud of China and Chinese culture the Chinese people are. And they should be. It's not everywhere that the opening ceremony would trace THOUSANDS of years of history.

The ceremony captured China and all of it's paradoxes. You saw the coordinated force of thousands of people. The size and the detail. There were people everywhere on the stage working together. That is China at its best. Everyone, billions, working to protect and serve their country and culture. We in the west do not relate well to the idea of the whole being above the individual. For the Chinese, the accomplishment of China as a whole is greater than any individual accomplishment. You could see it in their eyes. They were unified and they were proud. It was awesome. I could picture my friends, their faces glowing, as they watch their TVs in their homes a half world away.

China gets a bad rap here so many times and they are certainly far from perfect. But the change since the late 70s is unmatched in history. They have transitioned from isolation and obscurity into the center of the world. They have done it without starvation, without war, and without revolution. They have not been perfect, but last night they showed the world how far they have come. To my Chinese friends out there. Congratulations! You were amazing. Even here in the USA, your passion and performance were unmatched. It was simply wonderful to see.