Currently, China is ruling the world. Most recently, South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend a peace conference to be held in Johannesburg. The country is hosting the 2010 World Cup, and their reasoning behind the denial was that they felt the presence of the Dalai Lama would distract from the intent of the conference, “to discuss football’s role in fighting racism and xenophobia.”

South African government spokesman Thabo Masebe also stated that the Dalai Lama’s presence “would not be in the best interests of South Africa at this time.” I, as well as most scholars, believe this is only because the South African government is bowing to the Chinese government, which thinks that the Dalai Lama is the premier player behind Tibet’s push for independence. How do you hold a world peace conference without the Dalai Lama, and with Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, prominent Nobel Peace laureate, protesting?

Unfortunately, we are also under China’s thumb, as they own most of our nation’s debt. As Americans recognizing an individual’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we should be playing a bigger part in assuring that all citizens of the world are able to exercise these rights. You can help end this discrimination against the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people by visiting www.freetibet.org and taking action on their campaigns. This is fast and easy for you to do and could potentially save many innocent lives. Wouldn’t you want someone to click a button to save your life?

Morgan Culver

social work sophomore