The Right to Be Fed

I wish I didn't know anything about China. Reading about China over the last several months has nearly spoiled my enjoyment of the Olympic Games.

I wish I didn't know about the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards, the "criticism" of intellectuals. I wish I didn't know about the persecution of political dissenters - whose dissent is paid back by a bullet in the back of the neck, usually in public, often in an athletic arena.

The International Olympic Committee awarded these games to Beijing partly because they believed it would strengthen human rights in China. It has had the opposite effect. It has empowered the Chinese government - at the expense of its people.

I appreciate the athletic achievements of all the Olympians, and would have been sorry for them if the US boycotted the Games this year - just like I was disappointed for the athletes when we boycotted the Moscow Games in 1980. But I believe that a boycott this year would have been more meaningful than the 1980 boycott.

Hong Kong democracy leader Martin Lee, when speaking of the rights and freedoms of the Chinese people has said, "There is only one right in China - the right to be fed. It's the sort of right all dogs and cats enjoy."

Think about that when putting out Rover's Alpo tonight.