My Thanksgiving went pretty well, though it would have went better had the Red Sox actually made a trade or signing or something as an early Christmas present. While this was a disappointing development (or lack thereof), I was happy to see my family again. Although, I have to say that I was surprised that my usually up-to-date family was unusually silent on one of the more controversial and alarming issues in world affairs lately and that is the sudden escalated tension between the South Korea-United States and North Korea. While we were passing around the rolls I was just waiting for my grandmother to say in her abrupt and loud tone about "what the hell is going on with North Korea." Perhaps my family is unconcerned with the thought of a (more) assertive North Korea, or perhaps they are much too concerned that they didn't even want to discuss the possibility of a nuclear standoff in East Asia, and possibly in the Western Hemisphere.
A best guess on my part is that my parents side with the former way of thinking. Like it was discussed in class, I feel that North Korea is merely showing its teeth in an era where we've become accustomed to a more liberal, transparent world power apparatus that such a display of a realist method is distressing to nations and people across the world merely because it has become an antiquated technique among developed and even developing nations. North Korea knows internally that it's going to be difficult to assert their (imagined) authority over the countries of East Asia once their "fearless leader," Kim Jong-Il passes away. It's similar to what will certainly be a problem for Cuba once the man who is now supposedly working behind the curtains, Fidel Castro, finally kicks the bucket. Also, as was noted in the New York Times this morning, South Korean officials and diplomats feel that after Kim Jong-Il dies, it will only be a matter of time (likely a few years) before the government collapses. China, through the new WikiLeaks story, has shown impatience with North Korea, perhaps signaling that their mutual friendship that has spanned decades may finally be coming to an end. North Korea doesn't really have any other friends in the world; China is their last hope. I mean, if the United States were a nation run like North Korea, and we had a dynasty family running things in our country, wouldn't it be rather destabilizing once the leader died and a transfer of power is taking place? North Korea may not get another chance for a governmental change for years, as Kim Jong-Il's heir apparent, his son, would probably lead the country for decades to come. The government, wanting to keep its authority over its people intact, and at risk of losing their only real ally, will attempt to
That’s pretty cool that you often discuss world affairs with your family. The discussion at my family’s dinner table rarely leaves the sphere of what’s going on with the family. Attending AU means I now have an excuse to bring up politics to the table. That would make for some entertaining conversations.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I took a look at an article about the new information coming out of WikiLeaks. I didn’t know that even North Korea’s closest ally China is having doubts about staying by North Korea’s side. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the government of North Korea changes once Kim Jung-Il passes away.
Speaking of dynasties, I think we should have been more concerned when George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton ran for President. A President’s son did become President and a President’s wife was this close to becoming the current President. I think we should be wary of such situations. Luckily I read that Jeb Bush isn’t going to run for President.