Synchronicity

The opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing last night was simply sublime. It wasn't the flashy, ostentatious display of a super power's resources that never fails to elicit shock and awe from viewers but an honest to goodness show worth thousands of hours of hard work, synchronicity, and harmony among thousands of performers. That was what wove the magic--sheer man power--not technology, not science, not electronics, but down home, old fashioned practice and perfection.

The performers, 15,000 total, exhibited impeccable precision. One can just imagine the logistics and the discipline involved to mount a spectacle powered purely by humans. Out of the 2008 performers in any given number, there was no one out of beat, no one out of synch, nor out of line. Truly unbelievable!

But then a friend muttered under his breath, "What do you expect, imperfection? These people are followers, who are so used to being ordered around. Let's not forget here that they are still under an iron dictatorship, no matter what the West does to claim otherwise. They follow orders or it's their head on a plate." Touche!