Abolitionist

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. - Fredrick Douglass

Somebody commenting at One Free Korea compared the tone of this blog to Fredrick Douglass' famous advice, "Agitate, agitate, agitate." I did not know who this great American abolitionist was, and now that I do, I am floored by the (completely undeserved) compliment. The experience has caused me to think about what I'm doing here. What do I believe in? What am I trying to accomplish? What is my point? If I have any of these goals, how am I going about trying to fulfill them?

To date, this has been my only statement of purpose: "Democracy is ever vulnerable to people like [Christine] Ahn. There is only one way to fight back. Where lies are heard, they must be greeted with truth. Congrats, lady. You made me care about something outside my little box. I care about truth. I care about needless death and daily torture."

I've also written that, "I am fascinated by the slow-motion train wreck" that is North Korea. I love the transparent, self-serving propaganda, particularly the stuff disseminated to American audiences. We aren't used to such lies, and it is a shock to realize that they even exist. Now that I know, I cannot look away. Now that I see, I must open the eyes of others.

I care about nuclear weapons, and North Korea is the only hot-spot on the planet where there is a chance of a nuclear conflict. We (the human race) have only used nuclear weapons twice. The repercussions were so horrific that we haven't done so again for over sixty-five years. The only mad dog itching for a nuclear war is North Korea. They must be stopped.

I am fighting evil. The subversion of good people to bad ends is not just wrong, it is inherently evil. I am a true American, fighting for Democracy. I believe in our way of life. As flawed as America may be, we are a force for good.

I don't pretend to have deep knowledge about North Korea, but I do know a bit, and I feel that this blog fills a gap. Most American citizens do not know about the large-scale starvation and torture in the DPRK. We tend to assume that 'all that North Korea stuff' happened long ago; that all those totalitarian Stalinist dictatorships toppled with the fall of the Soviet Union. This assumption is simply not true. "I am fascinated with North Korea because they are starving themselves. People are dying. Today. Now."

As much as the KCNA would like us to believe otherwise, North Korean gulags and hunger are a daily fact of life. What's more, our lack of knowledge makes us vulnerable to 5th column efforts by the like of Christine Ahn, who subverts American and international women's and peace activist movements. Our (sometimes willful) ignorance of North Korea leads well-meaning citizens to oppose the efforts of our own government and military. Some of our finest activists have been corrupted to the ends of the DPRK. This situation will continue and get worse if we don't do something about it. Through this blog, I am acting. This is my little fight to save the world.