Saturday, March 29, 2008

Secularists and Tibet

3/29/2008--As a secularist, I have noticed who confronted the Chinese authorities in Tibet over the suppression of Tibetan culture—monks. It is monks who are keeping alive the spirit of freedom in Tibet.

And the same was true of the monks in Myanmar in September, confronting the military government there.

Not secular reforming liberals. Monks. And apparently they did so with full popular support.

This is reminiscent of the role of the Catholic Church in confronting communist tyranny in Poland in the 1980’s.

And in America, who has spoken for the poor and the illegal immigrant? As I remember, the Catholic Bishops were the major force opposing the end of welfare. And, campaign rhetoric aside, the Democratic Party supported NAFTA (which indeed may actually be a good agreement for all sides). Secularism in America has not developed an alternative to market economics. At the same time secularism has grown, capitalism has been increasingly unshackled, for good and ill.

What is the source of opposition to power? Opposition to the way things are? And, what kind of opposition leads to liberation of the human spirit? I suggest Our Religions are closer than we secularists are, to that source.

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