Please indulge my departure from basketball tonight…/

I love sports. My high school was so small you could play football, baseball, basketball, and run track.Sports become a real part of your life under those circumstances. Every four years the ritual known as the Olympics is held. This year it is being held in Beijing, China. That mystical land across the ocean is getting ready to show the world exactly who they are, where they have come from, and where they intend to go.

One place they've gone is Tibet. Five decades or so have passed since the Dali Llama escaped into Northern China to keep his culture and its unique denomination of Buddhism alive. I know a little about Tibet. I have been to that Shangri La twice. I've spent time in a monastery in Nepal learning more about Buddhism. I have seen the Dali Llama and been blessed by him along with hundreds of other people in an audience. He is indeed a Holy Man.

The rape of Tibet by China is not well documented in Western Circles. How should our nation react to an overt invasion and continued robbery of a nation's identity? We all love to say that sports are sports. The Olympics transcend sports however. The United States of America, is a country who has let the world know that the spreading of democracy is our divine responsibility. According to President Bush, democracy is a sacred right, and it is our country's role as leader of the free world to spread the word.

This country owes more money to China than you and I can count. Our national debt soars beyond belief and the value of our dollar now plummets to depths heretofore unknown. It is doubtful the United States will boycott the Olympic Games as a protest to the destruction of a holy land. We can't. We owe them too much money.

As our country has railed about terrorism a more dangerous and insidious form of terror has attacked us. It has been a successful attack. We pay over four billion dollars in interest to the Chinese daily. We do not pay anything on the principle. We just borrow more, pay the interest, and roll over the principle. Of course, we have (no pun intended here) sterling credit so the world is anxious to lend us money. We aren't paying for the war in Iraq. The Chinese are. It will be our children and grandchildren that pay the principle.

While the rest of the world seriously engages in a dialogue about Tibet, our President turns a blind eye toward the problem. If you are the champion of democracy in Iraq, then you should be the champion of democracy in the Congo, and Tibet as well. While our Congress holds worthless debates about oil profits to pacify the public, Red China systematically continues to destroy Tibet. The Communists have even attempted to label the Dali a "terrorist". To China I am sure he is a terrorist. The fundamental freedom of man is a threat to China.

Should we boycott the Olympics? Or should we treat the Games as sport and give tactic approval to China to continue genocide of a culture? Clearly, you understand where I stand. But then, I'm one of those 60 year olds who sports a "FREE TIBET" sticker on my car's bumper. It seems to me that you lose credibility by ignoring Africa and places like Tibet. Then again, there is no oil in Tibet.

I have seen numerous readers send out requests for prayer on many sport sites. Today I am asking you to pray for a gentle people whose daily life centers around faith and love. If we won't protect them with our army at least we can pray for them and ask God to protect them with loving and embracing arms. Please pray for Tibet. Please donate money for Tibet. Please pray for the Congo. Pray for those who hear the words of our leadership, and then become disillusioned when aid is not forthcoming. Write letters to your Senator and Congress person and ask that the Olympic Games be boycotted as a protest for the tyranny of a totalitarian state. In times like these we need to be reminded that all citizens of this planet are our brothers and sisters. Pray for your brother. Pray for you sister.