Saturday, 1 April 2017

China and the Totalitarian Tendency.

The news over the past week or so has been notable for reminding us once again that the world is being ruled by covert neo-Fascists like Trump, Putin, Erdogan, Netanyahu and Assad. That’s the way we’re going at the moment, and it seems that in those countries purporting to be democratic there are sufficient quantities of people with minds the size of mentally-challenged amoebas supporting the trend.

Best of all, though, what about the Chinese who are out-Trumping even Trump? What about them? I read today of the new laws being enacted in Xinjiang Province where there is a Muslim majority with its own distinct culture. It is now illegal for a man to wear a long beard. It’s illegal to wear clothes which ‘excessively’ cover the body (as defined by the state.) It’s illegal not to watch state television. There’s more, and it’s all being done in the name of ‘anti-terrorism measures.’ Well, it always is, isn’t it? Maybe it’s really being done in the name of making China great again. Or maybe it’s something else entirely.

You know, if you take a serious look at traditional Chinese culture it’s full of grace, intelligence, ingenuity, beauty, inclusivity, awareness of natural forces, and a love of peace. That’s what makes China great, not the engineering feats or the burgeoning economy. So how on earth did they end up with a bunch of dictatorial, totalitarian bullies running their country and keeping China rooted in the mire of Third World status in the minds of the rest of us? It’s a mystery, and it’s a shame. Maybe the Mongols and Manchu need to sweep south again and sort things out.

For now, I’m just very glad I don’t live in America, Russia, China, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, or several other places where the population is tied to the yoke of oppressive regimes run by nasty people.

(Which reminds me that I must make that post about the Japanese horror film and the value of sentimentality. Later, maybe; right now I have to tend a garden which needs more work than I have time to give it.)

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