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China Rules Our Streets, Three Monkeys Sit Quietly

By Robert Paul Reyes

The 19th century belonged to the United Kingdom; Britannia ruled the waves and the sun never set on the British Empire.

"The British Empire was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, the foremost global power.... By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world's population."
Quotation from Wikipedia

The British Empire may have shrunk to a few insignificant territories, including the Falkland Islands, but its legacy endures to this day. Many countries around the world, including America, copied the British template in setting up their educational, legal and governmental systems. Not to mention that English is the world-wide language of commerce and diplomacy.

The British legacy is not all positive, decades later many third world countries are still suffering the devastating consequences of colonialism.

But any objective student of history will admit that when Britain ruled the world, its accomplishments and strengths outweighed its excesses and faults.

The 20th century belonged to America; Manifest Destiny didn't stop on the west coast, American hegemony extended to a good portion of the planet. The world feared and respected our military prowess, but they were enthralled and delighted by American pop culture. Even our enemies know the lyrics and dance to the tunes of our rock gods.

America saved humanity from Hitler and communism - much of the world owes their freedom to the sacrifice of our soldiers. When we had a monopoly on nuclear weapon technology we could have annihilated our adversaries and guaranteed that we would never be toppled.

The American legacy is not all positive, the CIA installed many ruthless dictators in countries throughout the world, but especially in Central America.

But the subjective opinion of this editorialist is that America is the greatest nation in history, and we will never again see anything like it.

The 20th century ended with the United States as the sole superpower, but our inevitable decline can be seen in the free-fall of the dollar and the unfettered arrogance of the Bush administration.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist or a renowned historian to know that the 21st century will belong to the East, led by China.

Every country fights for the right to host the Olympics; hosting the premier international athletic competition is a sign that your nation has power, influence and wealth. This summer's games will be held in Beijing, China, and the Chinese are determined to use the games to showcase their economic and political might.

China may no longer be a communist nation; the government has opened the market to such an extent that has Chairman Mao turning over in his grave. But China is still a ruthless dictatorship, that doesn't tolerate dissent.

Make no mistake about it, in 20, or even 10 years from now, China will be the world's undisputed economic and military power. Will China be a benevolent or a malevolent empire?

Well, for those idiots who can't read the Chinese handwriting on the wall, just consider the haughty way in which the Chinese have protected the Olympic torch as it tours the great cities of the world.

I never thought I would live to see the day when great Western powers like America, England and France would let Chinese security personnel protect the Olympic torch as it toured London, Paris and San Francisco. In the footage that was aired on American TV, I witnessed the Chinese thugs manhandle protestors who got too close to the torch.

I don't believe in boycotting international sporting events, sports is one of the few things that can bring people together, instead of ripping us asunder. But I will not be watching the Olympics this summer; I don't want to be reminded of the bleak prospects for the 21st century.