Tibet may become the litmus test of American moral strength abroad as the new century dawns, a measure of what we value as a people and how we ourselves will be judged by history. Already, more and more Americans are rising to this challenge and demands for action on Tibet are growing. Hollywood, both America's most sensitive barometer of public trends and its most potent communications engine, is embracing the issue of Tibet with a number of feature films. It is noteworthy that Kundun's producer, Disney, was pressured by Beijing to drop the project but refused to back down. China was shocked by the clarity of Disney's response and quickly back pedaled.
China is right to be concerned.
As public sentiment builds, as the simple and compelling message of the Tibetan people finds a sympathetic ear among moral, freedom-loving Americans, politicians will be able to ignore this issue only at their peril. As American Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists or whatever, we all know deep in our hearts that a threat to religious freedom anywhere is a threat everywhere, a blight on the human condition. It is our defining challenge to respond and our leaders' defining challenge to champion our cause.