Gods, flags and idiots

Expatbrian over at The Impolitic points out that George Bush, while attending the Swimming finals at the Beijing Olympics, held up the US flag -- backwards. I have to disagree that we will be hearing a lot about this, but I'm still getting the viral e-mails about how Obama-the-Muslim-terrorist hates the flag.

George of course is over there making a fuss about religion and how uplifting it is to worship God. Outside the Kuanjie Protestant church, George who obviously knows nothing or less than nothing about the long religious history of China declared that

"it just goes to show that God is universal, God is love and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion."

Come to think of it, he seems to know less than nothing about the Crusades, the Inquisition and 1500 years of war, conquest, genocide and murderous persecution by European followers of Jesus the Love-God. I'm sure that like most Americans, he knows nothing about the Opium wars either and about how China was forced to accept bibles and narcotics from missionaries, immune from Chinese law and backed by Christian military might. Everyone in China is still quite aware and more than a bit cynical about the benefits of having foreign controlled religions running amok in their ancient land.

Of course Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, religions not really concerned with the kind of gods Christians imagine, and certainly not accepting of the universality of Yahweh whether in the original version or the Romanized impregnator of virgins are still very much active and the temples are packed, to which I can testify. There are millions and millions of Muslims in China. I once spent a magical and yes, uplifting afternoon in the ancient Xi'an Mosque. Christianity is still present as a minority religion and I know a number of Chinese Catholics personally, but When George talks about religious freedom, I'm not sure he doesn't mean the same kind of Christianist domination he dreams about for the United States. I'm quite sure they are aware of our history of exploitation under the name of George's God-O-Love and want no part of it ever again.