Reloaded: The Bull(y) In The China Shop

Last year, I wrote "The Bull(y) in the China Shop", regarding human rights vs "business wants". In the end, it's all about self-serving, hypocritical double standards - and President Obama, as well as our very own Prime Poseur, played right into these again recently.

Hence, I will only reiterate the following:

Unfortunately, Big Business lobbying and pressure on our elected representatives over the last 15 years or so, coupled to our own sleeping-at-the-switch on this matter as citizens, allowed for trade mission after trade mission to go to China in order to further open business over there - with virtually no strings attached with regards to democracy, freedom and/or human rights (some examples here, here, here and here).

In short: China opened its door to Big Business and everyone scrambled to be the first there to take advantage of its market and its affordable work force.

The result? China is now a major owner of the U.S. national debt, while manufactured goods and products made in China litter our store shelves - from your neighborhood cornerstore to Walmart and beyond. And that is not counting the number of jobs outsourced from here to over there.

Consequently, it may be now simply too late to enact any "strings attached" trade laws to force China to change its ways - because of political cowardice, electoral apathy and Big Business "anything-goes-or-works" opportunism for profits.

We do not hesitate to bitch slap countries that are smaller and/or less powerful that our own (Nicaragua, Bermuda, Iraq, Afghanistan, et al., anyone?), all the while beating our chest proudly that we are spreading democracy. We either invade or enact tough, knee-jerk, choking "no-trade" laws against such smaller countries.

But against those countries that may be able to hit back (like North Korea) or those that we know can hit us back hard (Russia, China), we content ourselves with empty posturing ... all the while acting the lap dogs to Big Business by allowing them to do business with no strings attached, still deluding ourselves that Big Business will somehow create democratic changes in countries like China in our stead.

Which, of course, will never happen as long as the nature of the capitalist beast continues to run unchecked and with no (political) direction other than keeping its eyes on the bottom line - need I remind you folks again about Microsoft and Google?

Isn't it ironic that communist China ever understood better the nature of the capitalist beast, knowing that it could get richer without changing its ways, while our great capitalist thinkers have kept harping about the Noble Values and Virtues of the Free Market as a democratizing force?

So in the end, we turn out to be nothing more than hypocritical cowardly schoolyard bullies - taxing and beating up the smaller and weaker, ego-stroking posturing against those that may hit us back, and mumbling under breath while "hanging out" with those that can stand up to us and actually give us a beating.

(...) War is wrong and wasteful. Responsible, pro-active, forward-thinking trade laws, on the other hand, have ever remained our best bet.

We want to promulgate real change in China? Then let's stop giving our democratic powers to those who would sell it away cheap and instead give it to those who will have the courage to enact progressive, forward-thinking trade laws which will encourage positive change in countries like China. Let us stop electing people who do not represent us and our interests, but rather only their own and those of Big Business. Let us get involved once and for all and live up to our responsibilities as citizens.

And first and foremost: let us abandon the barbaric ways of enhanced interrogation techniques and extraordinary renditions, while at the same time re-instating the full standing of our Constitutional laws here at home.

If we are not ready to do this, then let us cease our hypocritical, cowardly, mindless carpings about China's human rights and whatnot.

Let's face it: with regards to China, we missed the mark. We dropped the ball. We flunked out.

Just like we did with our own democracies in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., etc.

And so here we are, left with nothing but to hope for the best that some day, somehow, some way, China will significantly improve on its human rights records ... in the same manner we are left hoping that some way, somehow, some day, things will improve over here at home after years of neglect on our part.

Once again: mea culpa, mea culpa vox populi.

And as further evidence to support these more-than-one-year-old points, I give you this, and that, and this, and that. Oh - and this as well.

'Nuff said - sadly enough.