Olympic Brouhah

After sitting down to watch the tape delayed (and DVR delayed) opening ceremonies and the accompanying NBC fluff, I have to say that the whole spectacle of the Olympics was more or less just that: a spectacle.

When I was in Taiwan for a summer (re)education trip for foreign-born chinese youth, they took us around to an "exposition" at a military base.  At the base, we were treated to a performance of hundreds of soldiers performing a rehearsed coordinated martial arts routine.  I'm presuming that the message was that Taiwan is strong enough to defend itself from the onslaught of China, but it was the same message that I got seeing the scale of the performances at the opening ceremonies.

I am astonished at the size of the chip on Chinese citizen's shoulders though.  I thought I had a big chip, but that is nothing compared to Chinese nationalism.  The complaints I have heard primarily focus on "why the international media keeps pointing out the negatives".  Perhaps they should realize that the reason the rest of the world points out the negatives is to make themselves feel better about their own negatives - definitely a concept that the Chinese have not grasped yet.

Still, I must admit that I am intrigued by the medal count competition between China and the United States.  That, and the fact that Canada has yet to win a medal three days into the competition.