Tuesday, February 03, 2004
The trials and tribulations of a failed dictator
This article on North Korea got me thinking about its "dear leader," Kim Jong Il.
What does he think when he looks at himself in the mirror? Normally, people like to think they are doing what they do well. When I write a program, I want it to be a GOOD program. When I write an article, I want it to be a GOOD article.
Kim Jong Il, however, presides over a regime where a large percentage of the population is starving. His people are at LESS than subsistence, and even worse, their mirror image in the South (where per capita GDP is half that of the United States) shows that SOMEONE made a bad a wrong turn on the way to a prosperous economic future.
He spends most of the nation's money (what little there is) on a military whose only purpose is to keep him in power. They certainly don't exist to defend a system of government that is demonstrably better than alternatives.
I can't imagine being so selfish that I would prefer to enslave 10s of millions of people in order to avoid having to release my hold on power. Yes, he might face some pretty serious consequences if he were to step down, as I don't think his people would think their dear leader was quite so dear anymore when they are free to voice what they REALLY think of him. Even so, is it really better to enslave millions in order that one guy can avoid having to face the consequences? Heck, I couldn't live with myself knowing I was doing that.
I guess that's why I'm not the North Korean dictator.
This article on North Korea got me thinking about its "dear leader," Kim Jong Il.
What does he think when he looks at himself in the mirror? Normally, people like to think they are doing what they do well. When I write a program, I want it to be a GOOD program. When I write an article, I want it to be a GOOD article.
Kim Jong Il, however, presides over a regime where a large percentage of the population is starving. His people are at LESS than subsistence, and even worse, their mirror image in the South (where per capita GDP is half that of the United States) shows that SOMEONE made a bad a wrong turn on the way to a prosperous economic future.
He spends most of the nation's money (what little there is) on a military whose only purpose is to keep him in power. They certainly don't exist to defend a system of government that is demonstrably better than alternatives.
I can't imagine being so selfish that I would prefer to enslave 10s of millions of people in order to avoid having to release my hold on power. Yes, he might face some pretty serious consequences if he were to step down, as I don't think his people would think their dear leader was quite so dear anymore when they are free to voice what they REALLY think of him. Even so, is it really better to enslave millions in order that one guy can avoid having to face the consequences? Heck, I couldn't live with myself knowing I was doing that.
I guess that's why I'm not the North Korean dictator.
