Opening ceremony

Friday night we watched the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. I have fond memories as a kid watching the Games, and remember seeing some of those classic moments, like the '84 men's and women's gymnastic teams and the skating accomplishments of Boitano and Hamilton (was that '84 too?) Anyway, it was a great lesson for all of us in geography and geopolitics--plus it was stinkin' fun to watch. At the end, when they had the pictures of all the world's children out on the field (weren't they projected up on the rim of the stadium too?), Zac said, "Hey, maybe we'll see somebody we know!" Yeah, maybe!

The show was jaw-dropping, of course, and we let the guys stay up as long as they could to watch the parade of nations. The American delegation took a bit too long, but we called the still-awake Zac down to see them come in.

A bit more delicate was how to explain to the kids appropriately about Communist China. (Scott and I got creepy Soviet flashbacks when the soldiers goose-stepped the Chinese flag to the pole). I am of the opinion that we should never be ambivalent towards the evils of Communism, though it is shockingly easy to do since the Cold War ended. But how do you explain that to your kids?

We told the boys that there are some bad leaders in China who hurt and try to get rid of people who disagree with them or don't worship in churches they like. We also told them that the people there don't have the freedom we do, and we should be very thankful that we live in America. Hopefully those little tidbits of civil and global education will be fused together one day. In the meantime, it's been great fun to watch Michael Phelps kick everybody in the swim trunks.