The Rose

The Beijing Summer Olympics are on the verge of starting and I say it is about time. I forget from one time to the next how much hype surrounds the Olympics, but it seems to me that this time it is very much over the top. After listening to the coverage the last few months, I think we all know more about the torch run, the human rights issues, and the air quality concerns than we do about the athletes. The timing seems to be perfect for China as they are exploding on the world economic scene and now all eyes will be on them for the next few weeks to an even greater degree. This really was an ideal opportunity for the free democratic nations of the world to put pressure on China regarding human rights issues. But, in the end, it will be the Chinese people themselves that will initiate change as they are becoming more confident in their new found wealth and in the fact that the world seems to be watching closely what happens there.