do the best
I was talking to a friend last night, who asked what to do with her life. She and I have known each other a very long time, and she’s likely the most gracious and kind person I know. Infinite potential to do good. The only answer I could think of her to do was, “The best.”
I read an article today from National Geographic about North Koreans fleeing their country, often from situations where there is nothing to eat but grass or tree bark, and escaping north, over the river, and then having to make an incredibly dangerous trek all the way across China, escaping to the south and out of China where they’ll be able to be taken to South Korea as refugees.
The story is intense. The conditions being left behind, and even the difficulty of adjusting to a life of freedom… It’s intriguing, but more than that, it’s something most people will never see. Again, the article is HERE and I can’t recommend enough that you read it.
19. January 2009 um 03:28
This is one part of the korean peninsula that we haven’t really touched on much. I asked a professor why we haven’t gotten into it much. He said one reason is the scale, the other reason is the normalization of it. as in, how normal of a practice it is. It’s not new, nor really exciting, like a hurricane in the phillipines or a flood in indonesia. or Gaza. those are the flashy and showy refugee crises. He said that hopefully the media (and world leaders) will begin to recognize the korean peninsula as possible the single most important focal point of international politics in the next few years.
A botched power transition in Cuba would not be nearly as potentially disastrous as a botched transition or regime change in NK.
19. January 2009 um 03:35
More on topic, I had a conversation with a friend who could not comprehend how these people did not understand that their government was wrong, that what was happening was wrong. I tried to explain the “generational” way of control. Really all it takes is one, but especially two generations to completely change the manner in how people think. I can’t even imagine the mental turmoil and emotional struggles in transitioning from a life of starvation and informational isolation to living in a free country. Even marginally free. Learning your whole life you’ve been lied to, that a better life is possible, that in some places people don’t disappear for speaking out, or not having the proper pins on.
I travel and voluntarily place myself in adverse situations and challenge myself to see how others live. I don’t do it so that I might survive the winter, or to get household medicine.