Korean Blackmail

 

Sometimes ya gotta wonder which side of the looking glass we’re on. The level of nuttiness has climbed higher than Jack’s beanstalk, outta sight, above the clouds. Fritjof Capra, who wrote The Tao of Physics noted that in times of transformation, the world seems to spin faster and a lotta folks have trouble holding on. Many lose their moorings and their balance and fly off, figuratively, to the edges. It breeds a rise in cultism and other bizarre behavior.

North Korea has been frozen in time for nearly half-a-century, run by complete fruit loops. One supposes that if the populace were unoppressed they would recover in a couple of generations, but the problem is how someone might let their people go. At the moment, a pint-size psychotic is dictating life to the country, and seems content with the direction -- downward -- in which he is bringing them.

The other day Pyongyang announced that it did, in fact, have nuclear weapons. Nukes in the hands of sane people is dangerous enough. When the Soviet Union and the U.S. were facing off, the policy of our side -- the good guys -- was called MAD, for mutually-assured destruction. The idea was that if they launched nuclear weapons at us, we could always guarantee annihilating them, too. And the rest of the world. And this was considered sane.

The North Koreans want to talk about the situation mano-a-mano. They probably think that makes sense. From their perspective, Bush, Rice et all look like they know what they’re doing, which tells you something about their world view. They’re as nutty as our own Armageddo-philes. Clear proof of how looney are our tunes is the fact that we are refusing to meet with their loons, at least not in bilateral talks.

Why not? Why shouldn’t we sit down with the yahoos? I mean, presuming we had a sentient envoy to dispatch to such talks? Yeah, well, I’m talking conceptually, which is where the idea is being rejected at the moment.

Because they are trying to blackmail us is the argument. Well sure they are but we know that going in. We would want to meet with the North Koreans because (1) we want to get to know their people up close and personal and (2) we want them to make a human connection with some Americans. They’re less likely then to use their nukes.

But the bottom line is that we should welcome the blackmail. Paying them what they want -- trade concessions, economic development, energy assistance -- is a much better idea and less expensive in the long run than cleaning up after a nuclear exchange.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.

 

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