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In a perfect world, the quadrennial Olympic Games would stand outside the political sphere - inhabiting a place where citizens of the world could meet, compete and share a common celebration that powered historic and long-term harmony around the globe. In this imaginary world, nations would put aside their differences, their business competitions and their wars with each other and put on gym clothes and running shoes. The participants lose their grip on their burden of patriotism and instead, relish being humans. Each event would be filled to capacity as Olympic spectators cheered absolutely everyone, regardless of origin. Heroic, world-record performances stand alongside contests in obscure sports, bringing old and new together as equals. No country would make political use of such an Olympics: all will pledge to uphold the high goals of the games, showing respect for each other.

There exists no such vacuum where these idealistic dreams can live. Perhaps every one of the countries in the Olympics claim to ascribe to them, giving the common people false hope that things will be different. Cruelly, not this time.

China will put on a showpiece Games this summer for a coming out party which it thinks is overdue. The Chinese public isn't dangerous: it's the government. And not because of their nuclear arsenal. China is the most dangerous nation on Earth because they do not have a moral compass to work from. Other nations, my own United States included, are dangerous, too, but in our case opposition parties and a big media eventually get around to exposing malfeasance. No such limitations exist in China. No opposition, no legitimate press, no questions asked. Which is why the military actions China has taken in Tibet and the nearby provinces won't be visible. These flare-ups and suppressions are routine in the land behind the Great Wall. A million here, a million there. Yawn.

We aren't yet able to convene the kind of Olympic Games where world issues don't crowd the spotlight. The kind of Games where pure sport is pursued with no political end. Our problem is - we're all a long way from pure.

Learn more about this author, Michael T. Heath.
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