I have been watching the beginning of the Olympic ceremonies. I felt a lot like I did when I visited India in 1985 and 86. I was completely culturally overwhelmed. I am very aware that the people designing the opening ceremonies do not culturally think like me at all. I might as well be watching something from another planet colonized by people from Earth. It is definitely not bad. It is just completely so different there is no useful cultural context. The joining point is technology and a wish for peace worldwide. Other than that there are no real meeting points culturally because nothing really means the same there as here. One would have to get a college degree in China almost to have any idea at all what they were trying to say with the opening ceremonies.
And this is coming from someone who actually has taken time to study Buddhism, and Oriental thought. However, unless you are immersed in a China for 10 years or more one might not get what they are really saying. Does the world feel intimidated by these ceremonies? I would have to say, "Yes". What does it all mean? It means the world is changing into a completely new paradigm.
While the U.S. and Europe were fighting the war on Terror, China was tripling its gross domestic product per capita since 2001. We are entering the Age of China. Whether it is good or bad or both only history and the survivors can say.
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