Saturday, September 22, 2007
A look at the Dalai Lama and Tibet, one of the great tests of moral and economic interests squared off and at odds: 21st-Century Monk - Tibet's spiritual leader thanks America for its support.
China's economy is increasingly providing political cover for its suppression of Tibet; it's too big and important to let a little bright light shine on human-rights abuses in a faraway land. The Dalai Lama's cause is especially lonely in Asia, given China's economic rise and its rapidly accruing military clout. "Very few" democracies in the region publicly support Tibet, with the notable exception of India--which comes under pressure frequently from Beijing. The silence is deafening, given that many Asian democracies, including those in Japan and South Korea, are home to large populations of Buddhists.
Even Western democratic nations come under intense pressure from Beijing. Belgium cancelled an official visit with the Dalai Lama before an EU-China meeting in May this year. Australian Prime Minister John Howard hesitated to meet the Buddhist leader in June, but, after intense lobbying from Washington, acquiesced. Germany's Angela Merkel is proving braver--she's hosting the Dalai Lama's first-ever visit to the German chancellery on Sunday...
Related: Mattel Apologizes...to China
Quote:
That's not the surprising fact. After all, states and the politicians that govern them are more than liable to round ideological corners in favor of pragmatic interests. The surprising (for one who hasn't been tracking the scene for long), not to mention outrageous, fact is that individuals who call themselves "progressives" display an eerie silence (except for the occasional useless "Free Tibet" sticker for conscience's sake).
These people never tire of padding their support for the Pretendestinians with moral reasons. Their lack of such zeal when cases of true oppression and racism are concerned, such as Tibet and Darfur, make those moral reasons sound quite hollow. One need not explain the double standard as Jew-hatred; if you want a natural explanation, fear for their own futures, fueled by the erroneous belief that Israel is the cause of Islamic imperialism and hatred of the West, is a sufficient one.
The best way of knowing where people's hearts lie is by their zeal. Utterances of the mouth, even when loud as a cannon, can be perfunctory; zeal is what tells us of the causes people truly care for. Unequal zeal for comparable cases means that the reasons for each case may be different than stated.
HaShem bless you.
ZY