September 20, 2005
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HAPPY BELATED 56th Birthday to my momma, Sonia!
A beautiful, loving mother with crazy fashion sense, a fun sense of adventure, and the only person in our family with sanka pills.
WARNING: Long, serious ramblings up ahead. If you want fluff, scroll to the bottom.
I am a Patriot
Koooooorea
I was happy to read about N. Korea's decision (okay, more like, intent) to stop its nuclear program. I found an interesting article on CNN about one reporter's experience in Soviet Russia and later, in North Korea - interesting similarities! I don't think about North Korea very often, even though my dad is from there, but there are millions of people starving. Nobody knows for sure, since it's such a closed country. Of course, the mighty Soviet Union fell, so I have hope that this crazy loony will fall apart as well, though it might be some cataclysmic event that opens the borders. I need to remind myself to keep praying for North Korea and its people. Hurricane Katrina hit most of us so hard because these were US citizens suffering. Shouldn't I be crying out for my people and feel just as concerned about North Koreans? What do you think, Korean-American Xanga Reader (aka 99.9% of my Xanga readers).
AMERICA
Last friday night, I went out with two of my close foreign friends. One is a fellow American and the other, a Norwegian. Both of us Americans love America but also acknowledge the mistakes and missteps American foreign policy has made ... and the Norwegian, ever gracious and sensitive, said that he sometimes felt sorry for us Americans. We're such an easy target for criticism and as Americans dominate the foreign scene here (and probably in most other countries as well), many foreigners (not locals) resent us for our American thinking, ideals, culture, etc, etc. I've always felt that America is "damned if we do, damned if we don't". But in the end, even with all the stupid mistakes we've made, I'm really glad that we have a general sense of responsibility for what goes on in the world. When we don't get involved in places we should have (Rwanda), we feel a sense of shame. Of course, when we get involved in places where maybe we should not have (Vietnam; Iraq), we feel a sense of shame as well.
EU. P-U?
The Norwegian and I started having a bit of a heated debate as we talked about the EU and why Norway doesn't want to join. I argued that since rich countries lose while poor countries win, what was the point of the EU, because, let's face it - does FRANCE really care about the CZECH REPUBLIC? Indirectly, I was trying to say that European countries seem very... selfish... and therefore, the EU seems like a futile exercise.
I think Europe, in general, should be more active in their side of the world. Maybe I don't know enough about European politics, but it seems that they talk a lot, debate, try to negotiate... but don't really... act. I mean, shouldn't THEY be concerned with what's going on in the Middle East, Iran, Iraq, the Sudan, Rwanda... ? They are so much closer than we are and seem to have more at stake. Of course, they could say that Americans act too quickly, rashly, cowboy-ishly... and I agree... but at least we do something.. (even if that "something" means taxpayer-funded presidential assassinations; arming Osama bin Laden; financing Islamic extremists and S. American rebels/druglords)
YEAH, GO TEAM AMERICA!!! (anyone seen this movie? It's absurd and brilliant and ridiculous and disturbing. But generally funny.)
I also think all Americans should be required to live abroad for awhile. I think this would profoundly change the direction of American foreign policy.
Can you tell that I have a totally dysfunctoinal, love/hate relationship with America?
Bono
Whatever you think about Bono, I think what he says about America here is so true and just..so... nice! He's definitely one active European: "Me, I'm in love with this country called America. I'm a huge fan of America, I'm one of those annoying fans, you know the ones that read the CD notes and follow you into bathrooms and ask you all kinds of annoying questions about why you didn't live up to that.. I'm that kind of fan. I read the Declaration of Independence and I've read the Constitution of the United States, and they are some liner notes dude. As I said yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Independence Hall, and I love America because America is not just a country, it's an idea. You see my country, Ireland, is a great country, but it's not an idea. America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, lets take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of."
Short, frivolous rambling
I made mac-n-cheese FROM SCRATCH with EDAM CHEESE. It was pretty decent, but a little dry. I know how to make it better next time. I also made Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! YUM YUM YUM. Would probably never bother to make either of these things in the States.
Comments (10)
rambleback --
wow, your mother is/looks young.
can't comment about N.Korea, because i'm that .01% of your subscriber base.
team america was over the top, but yeah, it was everything else that you mentioned too. but i'm glad TA blew up the louvre and the eiffel tower.
Bono rocks. he's my hero.
team america was hilarious...
derka derka...
you really don't know who i was talking about?
Of COURSE I read books in Korean. Slowly...but I do.
Emo looks so sweet in that pic! My Mom called her too!
That Mac-N-Cheese looks SO yum.
Miss you, Ahrim unni!
Yeri Sama.
i liked this entry. unfortunately, i don't know much about politics/world issues so i can't make any intelligent comments.
but, i can talk about food -- that mac and cheese looks sooo yummy. you should try to make a bechamel sauce to go in it next time. it will be less dry.
i have yet to see team america. i heard it's really funny. my girlfriends were crying from laughing so hard.
happy b-day to Emo, too. about NK, I think it'll follow the Soviets only if 1. Kim Jong-il dies 2. he's replaced by someone who will open up the country, at the very least economically. Hyundai has done a lot to open the country just the teeniest bit to foreign (mostly South Korean) investors, but it's still too little, and definitely too late. it seems to me that if North Korea is following the Soviets, it's only in tiny incremental steps... to follow your train of thinking, NK is in the era of Stalin right now, decades away from sustained eonomic and political interaction with the West, and possibly centuries away from implosion. a lot of people think NK will implode on its own, that the government will see the millions of undernourished & the dying, and suddenly wake up to its folly. I don't think so.
Halmuni was from the North, too (Hwang-hae Province). the women there are supposed to be beautiful. North Korea's economy & gov't & politics are interesting to talk about in theory, so much so that I forget the human component. our history really is tragic.
thoughtful entry. I like what Bono said about America the Idea. read about that a lot, but it's cool to see it in modern-speak.
Oh, America.
YES! it would be so fun, i think. yes, we would kill each other, but since we're not afraid to vent how we feel about things i don't think it'll be a problem.
the problem now is that i have to contain things...
??????! what part of tashkent are you in? i was there summer 1993 and 1994 in politotdel, a small collective farming community (mostly cotton-growing) outside of the city, working with some pastors. back then, cel phones were advertised but no one could afford them, but i imagine things have changed a bit in twelve (!) years... (found your blog through a friend of a friend of a friend on xanga)
that was supposed to be "privet" in russian at the beginning of my post... xanga doesn't like unicode...
Comments are closed.