Now I don't know what to think

Justin and I went to the beach yesterday just because it was close enough for a day trip. We sat on the beach reading, swam, and when we saw lightning appear at 2:00, we went to an ice cream shop that serves Hershey's ice cream, which might just be my new favorite food. Road Runner Raspberry and Chocolate Moose Tracks. Scoops of pure yumminess. Then we drove around the coast some more, but ever since arriving back home, we have pretty much been all about the Olympics. So I promise, I won't write about them forever, but what can I say...I can't tear myself away, and I'm okay with that.

This year I'm still addicted to watching all the sports, but I'm also really intrigued by how China is using its time in the limelight. I'm in awe of it and saddened by it at the same time. If you saw the opening ceremonies, you saw a truly jaw dropping show. Each element was marked by artistry and extreme precision. Maybe any country could have pulled off that kind of precision, but to me, it seemed a mark of what a country that emphasizes the whole above the individual can accomplish. And the whole thing was absolutely gorgeous.

But...it's estimated that China spent $100 million on this ceremony alone, twice the amount of the last opening ceremony at Athens. I know Americans also spend exorbitant amounts of money on sports and big performances, but it's kind of hard to accept that a country with so much poverty would spend such an extreme amount simply to dazzle the world. A friend of mine even told me this morning she read somewhere (and I can't confirm this) that thousands of peasants were hired to build the Olympic structures and were then forced out of the city a few months ago and told that they were not to be seen while the Olympics were going on. China's censorship reflects this same kind of attitude: We can't cure our problems, but we can make them "disappear" so others can't see that our problems exist. That saddens me. And it is contrary to the ideals they so beautifully expressed during the opening ceremony--replacing the Great Wall with openness and desiring harmony with the environment.

That said, I did a little research on how many people are living in poverty in China. Did you know that they have reduced their poverty rate from 64% in the 1970s to 10% in 2004?? If that information can be trusted, that means 500 million people have been lifted out of poverty in one generation. Wow. I truly did not see that one coming. Maybe China is making better decisions with its money than I would have guessed.

If you saw the opening ceremony, what did you think?