Dreams, Made in China, coming true

As I watched in fascination the Chinese follow the Olympic Games with unbridled pride and sense of accomplishment these past weeks, I realized I may have witnessed something way more important than a sporting gala here. What I have witnessed is a proud people, ignited by a hunger to succeed, savoring the fruits of their confidence - a bold declaration of a collective can-do that comes only to those who dare to dream and believe in it.

Barack Obama calls it the audacity of hope, and wishes it for the United States. These past weeks, I have seen it happen in China, I have seen 1.3 billion people say "Yes we can". This is the stuff dreams are made of. And, when I last checked, this dream was being mass produced in China, just the way it was in the US in the last century. With jobs, dreams also seem to have set sail for China. Is the Chinese Dream then the new American Dream?

The American Dream means different things to different people. But interpreted whichever way, it's not looking that great these days. If it's freedom and liberty, look at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. If it's racial equality, look at Obama, trying to convince his people he is not a Muslim. If it's an immigrant's faith in the land of opportunities, look at the fence America is building to keep him out.