But if you want money for people with minds that hate; all I can tell you is brother try Wal*Mart aisle 8.

Politics is everywhere today. And in the chats about this party or that, this policy or that, the same ideas float by in many different forms over and over again. This is, among many other places, where I see the stunning lack of and lack of interest in the idea of a well rounded education. So few people, even those with the opportunity to have done so, benefited from a well rounded education. There is a basic lack of connecting ideas to history and history to ideology. This comes up most when people choose sides without any real knowledge of the true differences on the two or more sides in the debate they are entering.

One of the fun things in the news today is the Olympics and all the controversy about China's role as host. One of the things that people always fail to mention is that China had to fight hard to get this role. They didn't just invite the world in, they begged, cajoled and likely even bribed their way into getting people's nose into their nation. Why would they do this? There is no way they could not have predicted the strong and visceral reactions some would have. And by "they" I mean the government officials that would have petitioned the Olympic committees. The people may have been quite unaware in many cases. So if they knew the reaction, why do it?

One sub-topic for this is Tibet. I have always had many issues with the "free Tibet" clan. I do not deny that there has been wrong done by the China regime over many decades. But the story is not as simple as big bad China and little red Dali-Lama-hood. How many people know the role Xinjiang, Quinhai, Islam, Turkey and other influences in the region have played? I don't claim to understand it all, but I do know enough to say I'm not going to make simple sweeping statements because Richard Gere goes on CNN and does his holier than thou act. When looking for materials for this post I stumbled on a very interesting blog that talks a lot about these issues.

Of course, the US itself is tied to China in any number of odd and sundry ways which makes so much of this reaction so terribly absurd. China is to the US what the US is to itself 40-50 years ago. Large, polluting, self-aggrandizing, self-driven, world weary and ultimately tied to the idea that it's "their turn". But ignore the historical comparison and you have the intimate industrial and commercial bond we have. No China, no Wal*Mart. I would love to go around these protests checking tags on clothing to determine the number of people that would be naked without Chinese labor.

I'm not surprised by any of this. When you follow the connections of history and look at the ideologies driving these reactions and factions, it all fits into place. The West, which the US is likely at the forefront of these days, is driven by extreme ideas. It has been for ages. Christianity is a great example. Some people honestly seem to think that there was no religion in Europe before Christ. Or they think the religion was simply some stone age grunting around camp fires. The truth is there was rich and complex and diverse religion. But the West loves a rock star and when a good enough one comes along, they toss over everything that came before in his name. The history of the West can be partially understood as the perfection of this process through technology driving ever faster communication. Christ could never have gone platinum without Roman roads. Luther would never have been such a smash without the printing press. JFK would never have beaten "the man" without TV. Witness the pinnacle of all this: our current consumer culture. We have a new rock star being born, getting crucified and falling dead (and maybe risen on reality and late night TV) at the pace it takes the E! network to put on each night's show. Consumerism is the economic and sociological expression of a revolution addiction. Thank the Hippies (turned Regan Democrats) and their blue jeans for that. They taught the man how to sell their revolution back to them as fast as they could make it up.

So the news pumps out Richard Gere, people takes sides as they like and they get to feel smart. And then things move on to the next big flare up. People want it to move on. People want that next flare up. And now it goes so fast they only hang on for the rush. They are there in the square for the battle - and maybe some stay to declare victory. Most move to the next battle to scream and yell again, though. They are addicted to rebelling. They don't care if they see it through. Most don't even understand the forces driving it. They show up to protest for Tibet in Wal*Mart sandals. They drive 100 miles in their SUV to protest war in Iraq. They scream for abolishing government waste and control while they tap in their vote on Diebold machines. Maybe I'm silly, but I think if they had paid attention more in school, if they had learned to connect ideas together in long chains, they may see their own silliness. I don't hate them. I think they are very silly. I laugh at the absurd, not weep. Sic transit gloria mundi - but they would have had to pay attention in Latin to get that.