Tiananmen Square

I know I'm a day late. I was 12 years old at the time and I have no clear specific memories about Tiananmen Square when it occurred. I do have vague recollections of Chinese killing pro-democracy protesters, and the Tank Man image that came out some time later.

China continues to refuse to apologize for the actions it took. Right now we can't really say anything to them about it.

Prior to 2001-2003 we were on a pretty solid high ground footing with respect to China (not sure exactly when the torture began, but the Iraq war marks the end otherwise) when it comes to civil rights. Overall we still are, but torture, Guantanamo and a war of choice have severely weakened our stance in the eyes of the world. It is difficult to tell someone else to straighten up their act when our own has become so bent.

Maybe that is the most important part of Obama's speech in Cairo. In speaking candidly about mistakes we made the past 8 years, and in making it clear some of what needs to happen to right some of those things, he is helping to regain our standing in the world.

There is a lot of wind spent on specifics (Sotomayor, health care, the bailout, Cheney and Limbaugh, etc) and those things are a lot easier to comment on and to understand. Our world has shrunk dramatically in the last 15 years, and global issues are the most critical but also by far the most complex. How we deal with China is critically important for just about everything. Economics, greenhouse gas emissions, consumption, civil rights, military strength, space exploration, and more are all at stake, but many of those issues are opposed. The best path forward is not to demand or even request, but to lead. If we want China to improve their civil rights then pressure can only be brought to bear if we do the same (including, in my opinion, investigating and prosecuting anyone involved in torture). If we want China to push for green tech and energy we had damned well better do the same. If we want Iran to stop pursuing (if they are) nuclear weapons, and for North Korea to stop testing them, we had best get out of Iraq as quickly as possible. If we want the help of other nations in pursuing global compromise we should probably ensure that we help our own citizens recognize the importance of that global community, and to do that we must help our own citizens to live lives of dignity with things like health care.

Leading by example is hard work. Obama's speech was good, but there's a lot of living up to it that he and the rest of us will need to do for it to have been meaningful in the long run. If the media refuses to grow up in their reporting endeavors I wonder if it will be possible for Americans to come to understand this.

Curious: For some reason spell check wants me to write "Tienanmen". Since it's actually a Roman alphabet approximation of the Chinese word, it probably doesn't matter much but it seems the agreed upon spelling is with an "a" there.