Photo of the Week: The Power of the People

The Open­ing Cer­e­mony for the 2008 Bei­jing Olympics was jaw drop­ping. Sure there are ques­tions about human rights. Yes there are protests. I’ve heard all the sto­ries about blocked web sites. I even heard over the week­end that the fire­work dis­play was par­tially com­puter gen­er­ated. I think all that static has drowned out the real story here. This is a coun­try emerg­ing from the shad­ows. Mil­lions and mil­lions of people have come together to put on a state spon­sored pre­sen­ta­tion that belongs in the same cat­e­gory as the pyra­mids. I dis­agree with the some parts of the Chi­nese state and I’m strug­gling to under­stand aspects of their cul­ture, but I have the deep­est respect for what they accom­plished Friday night. If you missed it, I’ve included a few photos that try to do it justice:

See a larger group of pic­tures here.
Thanks to Boston.com for the photos.