I was watching Channel 141 of our Guizhou TV, and at a little before noon, the English language version of “1984” came on, complete with Chinese sub-captions. This is a movie made during the height of the cold war to justify the US hatred of communism. I watched the really terrifying movie starring Richard Burton and John Hurt about government mind control and the brainwashing that takes place when one party rules the country. It showed how the one party watches everybody and prosecutes people for thought crimes.  Well, go figure.  I can’t imagine such a propaganda film being shown in China, but it is. I just watched it.

It occurred to me that the two parties, Republican and Democratic,  have their own versions of mind control.  There is a war between the parties and all kinds of stories about the vile intent of the other. These stories are popular with party members. Both parties campaign against the politicians, who have the status of niggers prior to the civil war. I must say that politicians are not popular in China, but they are at least respected.

If you haven’t spent time in China, you don’t realize the simple things that trip you up every day.  Stairs are uneven, so when you think you are stepping up, you miss the step and trip. There are holes in the sidewalks and other obstacles.

This door has a 1.5 inch threshold.

In the older buildings, doorways often have a threshold that is an inch or two high to trip you.  After coming to China for 13 years, one would think that I would see these little stumbling blocks . . . NOT YESTERDAY.  Who would think in a new building . . .