Americans Away From Home

As the UK Obama Meetup group was taking photos in front of Parliament, red flags were everywhere across the street, coloring the street passionate red. A lengthy line of people gathered, orderly, quietly, preparing to show unity for Tibet. Chinese flags, Free Tibet flags, signs in Chinese characters were in the air.

We were there, Obama supporters, free to gather to take photos in front of Big Ben to send around the world.

They were there, people caring about Tibet, people hoping to stop violence, to let the world know their empathy.

The next day UK television told the story: You could see the Chinese protesters and the Free Tibet supporters, and a new group, the men in blue track suits.

In a fanciful moment, one might wonder what the Olympic flame might think.

On first glance, the men in blue track suits appeared to be escorting the flame. They were well-geared up: blue and white track suits, blue and white baseball caps, goggles, even down to their blue running shoes. Looking at them, who could guess they were an elite Chinese guard prepared to bat and swat anyone getting in the way of what the Chinese government wanted the world to think about the Olympic games?

TV news in the U.K., Europe, and the United States showed major protests everywhere the flame went, and at times, sadly, incidents with the blue-suited army. Black-uniformed police were shown clubbing protestors who got in the way. From London, Paris, San Francisco, everywhere the flame went, people came out to show China their reaction to China's violent actions in Tibet.

Switch to China. One TV station was doing interviews on the street, asking Chinese people what they thought of the protests along the Olympic flame's route.

"Well, there were just a few troublemakers, that's all," one man said. "It wasn't so much of a problem."

Reactions from people in China were universally similar; they believed it was only a few people who caused small annoying incidents.

Chinese television showed the flame on its trip, not the protests.  Manipulation of the thoughts of millions of people is shocking, still, in today's world.  It's hard to blame Chinese people for what they think, when what they think's based on what they're permitted to know.  Keeping millions of people in the dark to manipulate hearts and minds is just another form of mega-crowd control.

Freedom? It's living in a place where you can say what you want, express your feelings even if the government disagrees, where your government doesn't keep you in a censorship bubble of what news they want you to see.

Freedom? It's having the chance to criticize what you don't like that your government's doing, without the fear of being locked up for doing that.

Freedom? It's being able to fly a banner, Google what you want, access other opinions whether online, on TV, or in books. It's where the newspapers show what's news, not what you are led to believe news is.

Freedom? It's being able to choose who will lead your country.

Freedom? It's not goons masked in blue track suits.

Carole