Respect?
Watching the morning news with the report on North Korea testing a nuclear weapon, the reporter mentioned that the North Korean government said that now the rest of the world would have to give them the respect they deserved.
Well sorry North Korea, but repect is earned, not gained by threatening behaviour.
Maybe they are confusing the Oriental concept of "Face" with respect. Face is another form of pride, but respect is admiration and understanding. What North Korea are doing is a form of bullying. By saying "We can damage you if we don't get our way", they are trying to induce fear into the rest of the world. Any form of complience derived from fear is not respect, for rather than admire what North Korea represents, others will be filled with distrust and what North Korea thinks is respect will be fear induced loathing hidden behind a temporary appeasement. Is that really what they want? A false sense that the world accepts them as equals?
If North Korea really want to be respected then they should abandon this foolish path, direct their energies towards making their country a better place for their own people, show the world that they have matured and that they are morally and interlectually the equals of us all, and then they would be admired and respected.
But, unfortunately, that would mean relinquishing thier iron grip on power and stepping down from their dictatorial system of government. Not only would they lose their power over their people, but they would lose "face" as they would have to admit that the past 60 years have been a failure. In their minds it is better to demand "respect" with the barrel of a gun and to pretend that what they receive is admiration, respect and confirmation that they are right, when in reality the world only pays lip service and in private holds them in utter contempt.
Sad that a country that could offer the world so much, is so downtrodden by the self interest of the powerful few, that it will only produce more loathing and hatred and less of the "respect" they yearn for. Maybe the countries that have striven to support this regime for so long will now wake up and realise that instead of ensuring their own security, they have spawned a monster that threatens themselves as well as the rest of the world.
Let's pray that it is not too late for sense to prevail.
Well sorry North Korea, but repect is earned, not gained by threatening behaviour.
Maybe they are confusing the Oriental concept of "Face" with respect. Face is another form of pride, but respect is admiration and understanding. What North Korea are doing is a form of bullying. By saying "We can damage you if we don't get our way", they are trying to induce fear into the rest of the world. Any form of complience derived from fear is not respect, for rather than admire what North Korea represents, others will be filled with distrust and what North Korea thinks is respect will be fear induced loathing hidden behind a temporary appeasement. Is that really what they want? A false sense that the world accepts them as equals?
If North Korea really want to be respected then they should abandon this foolish path, direct their energies towards making their country a better place for their own people, show the world that they have matured and that they are morally and interlectually the equals of us all, and then they would be admired and respected.
But, unfortunately, that would mean relinquishing thier iron grip on power and stepping down from their dictatorial system of government. Not only would they lose their power over their people, but they would lose "face" as they would have to admit that the past 60 years have been a failure. In their minds it is better to demand "respect" with the barrel of a gun and to pretend that what they receive is admiration, respect and confirmation that they are right, when in reality the world only pays lip service and in private holds them in utter contempt.
Sad that a country that could offer the world so much, is so downtrodden by the self interest of the powerful few, that it will only produce more loathing and hatred and less of the "respect" they yearn for. Maybe the countries that have striven to support this regime for so long will now wake up and realise that instead of ensuring their own security, they have spawned a monster that threatens themselves as well as the rest of the world.
Let's pray that it is not too late for sense to prevail.
posted by Kedge @ 8:25 pm
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