Something interesting happened the other day. Tsewang Norbu of the Nyitso Monastery marched himself down to a local Chinese government office and called for the end of China’s brutal crackdown on Tibetan culture and the Buddhist faith. He pleaded that the Chinese government allow the Dalai Lama to return peacefully to Tibet. Of course, the Chinese government considers the Dalai Lama, a man who has traveled the world preaching the need for individual and social peace, a “terrorist.”
Tsewang Norbu knew his protest wouldn’t amount to anything but his arrest and torture by Chinese authorities. Because the brutal oppression was more than he could live with, he made the decision to take his own life by dousing himself in gasoline and setting himself on fire.
There are those among you that have been honestly swayed by the hateful rhetoric of American politics over the past years. Most Americans have very little interest, let alone awareness, of what’s happening beyond our boarders. Well, when I read something like the story of Tsewang Norbu, it really brings things into perspective.
Despite all the problems we’re facing as a country, things really aren’t all that bad.
We can still say what we want to say, worship as we wish to worship, and travel to where we wish to travel. As I type this blog post on my iPhone, I am retiring for the night in a hotel room in Mackinaw City, MI. I didn’t need a government permit to leave my hometown or my state. My vehicle is not owned by the state and due back by a certain time. When I went to Holy Mass the day before I left, the message of my priest wasn’t given to him by a government officer.
Sure, we’re suffering economically, and we’re suffering badly. But you know things are still actually pretty damn good here in the United States of America because nobody is lighting themselves on fire in front of government buildings.
As bad as things may seem, over 300 million Americans are able to live with it. It would do each of us well to remember that there are places in the world where “living with it” just isn’t bearable.
