Indoctrination

So recently you've probably noticed that all the press about Tibet, the Olympics and whatnot, and maybe you're wondering what the sentiment here is in China, especially among the students. I came across this op-ed piece (NY Time Article) which I think correctly assesses the opinions of most Chinese here.

Understandably, students are taught to love their country, nationalism is part of any country's curriculum. For example, the U.S. text books have glossed over our own malicious behavior towards American Indians and Japanese text books have underplayed their war atrocities in China and even have made some of the army leaders into war heroes. This is all done in order to paint a rosy picture of history and an attempt to avert any type of shame or disdain for one's country. Regardless, history is supposed to explain the truth and even knowing the truth, one can still love their country.

Thus, one can still love their country and at the same time be critical of their actions.