Learning to Look on the Bright Side, Chinese Style
You may have heard that China just became the third nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, a momentous achievement overshadowed only by the country's other recent accomplishment: Turning a lung-smothering smog problem into a smogpportunity.
China has lax environmental laws and a massive number of factories that make virtually everything you own, and that has turned the country's air into something along the lines of a runny, carcinogenic pâté.
But are the Chinese people going to let deadly pseudo-air get them down? Not if their state-run media has anything to say about it.
An editor for China Central Television's website recently posted an essay (which has since been removed) pointing out five good things about smog:
1) It's a common enemy, and that unites people.
2) It makes people more equal, because rich and poor must breathe the same air.
3) It makes people more aware of the price the nation pays for its extensive manufacturing.
4) It boosts people's senses of humor, as everyone jokes about the smog.
5) It makes people smarter, because they have to learn about pollution and the history of haze.
If only Americans could have such a clear view on something so difficult to see through. Granted, our country has some haze, but we've yet to produce truly patriotic, team-building smog.
...continued
(c) 2013 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
