“It’s better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.” It’s certainly ironic that that phrase is rooted in an old Chinese proverb, and that a week from now the Olympic flame will be burning brightly in China.

For more than a year, critics called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games. They cited human rights violations and a government that tries to keep its citizens in the proverbial dark when it comes to liberty. Protestors chased the bright flame of the Olympic torch all over the world.

They were successful at times in halting the Olympic torch relay; they even managed to get the flame doused, temporarily. But next week, the flame will be lit and the games will go on.

President Carter’s boycott of the 1980 Winter Olympics did nothing to advance freedom in the world. In the end, the fall of the Iron Curtain was aided by openness, back then called perestroika and détente.

People innately yearn to be free; the more the Soviet people directly saw western freedom in action, the more they pressed for freedom behind the Wall. It was not a boycott that drew the throngs who broke down that Wall, but rather the welcoming open arms on the other side.

A week from now, the world’s best athletes will be gathered together to compete. They are certainly not politicians, but they will stand as ambassadors for peace.

And regardless how hard the Chinese government works to the contrary, the people of China will be touched by freedom and liberty. That bright flame from the Olympic caldron can work to pierce the darkest corners of China.