As Mikhail Gorbachev took control of the Soviet Union and proceeded to make somewhat friendlier overtures to the US in the 1980's, I was skeptical of a wolf in sheep's clothing; indeed too skeptical. After all, the US government had spread fear of nuclear annihilation throughout our Republic during the cold war.
Yet in this history lesson we see that it is easy to prejudge an individual based on their associations. Even Gorbachev's ghastly appearance with that blood-red scar on his head made him appear to be Jack the Ripper incarnate at the time.
Here we have now in North Korea a new leader, Kim Jong-un, allegedly the world's youngest head of state with his age estimated in his late twenties. He has a pretty new bride from his wedding last month and seems to bring freshness to his country.
America in contrast, is stuck in a quagmire. In 1950, President Truman started our first major unconstitutional war by declaring "police actions" in the Korean peninsula without Congressional declaration of war. In the 62 years, we have maintained a perpetual presence in Korea including participation in the DMZ. Who can fathom the billions of dollars of our current debt that arise from this action? It is past time for the Korean peninsula to be occupied by Koreans, not by Americans.
Let's announce the beginning of a new slate, and a withdrawal of US occupational forces from Korea. Let's get some friendly trade and exchange going between us and the North Koreans. They are not an evil people, but a repressed one. And who knows? Perhaps Kim Jong-un isn't the evil leader as the American media projects of North Korean tyrants. Just perchance Kim Jung-un when not breathing down the barrel of the world's mightiest military--cornered and threatened by our own unconstitutional policies and warmongering--might not that dissimilar to Gorbachev. It's entirely plausible. This seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to promote liberty and truth among a noble people. I call upon President Obama to personally meet with Kim Jong-un and let's see if we can't get things a bit back to normalized with this impoverished nation of North Korea. Think of the potential: if Obama plays his cards right, this could be a feather in his cap like the Soviet Union was to Reagan. And goodness knows after all the warmongering Obama has done if he doesn't need such a "feather".
Of infinite more value than a feather in the cap of our own authoritarian President are the lives and souls of the North Koreans who deserve our friendship and brotherhood. Why not try a George Washington be-friends-to-all-nation approach? Who knows, and what have we to lose? We'll save a ton of dough which we desperately need anyways. Time is precious here; the freshness of new leadership quickly fades under the incessant threat we pose as the mighty American Empire.
The Economist recently published an article exploring the ways in which North Koreans are accessing more information connecting them to the outside world. Despite the efforts of leaders inside the country to curb such access, it is estimated that more than 70% of North Koreans have access to television and more than 40% have access to radio.
