Kim: Farewell, Earthlings

Well, let's be honest, he's not human.

Kim Jong-Il should have a eulogy with his achievements in starvation, torture, abuse, corruption, nepotism, cronyism, authoritarianism, torture, and so much more. DPRK media may be brainwashing the country into mourning, but there is no cause for any change of emotion. The Koreas will still be at war, and the oppressed people of the North will continue to be subjected to further abuse at the hands of the next dictator; the groomed heir who will make the third Kim in the dynasty. I don't know how people can put up with such a daft pseudo-monarchy. It's not a proper monarchy, there is no constitutional limits that outline the roles and responsibilities of this leader (that are taken seriously) unlike the British monarchy. It's simply a dictatorial family ripping off one of the most tortured countries in the world. Kim Jong-Il lived a life of luxury and excess, gorging on lobster, washed down with cognac, and then finished with cigars. A kid who grew into a family of such excess would never give it up to help people he has no connection to.

In the New Zealand Army, the lowest-ranked people are the first to eat at a meal, and the highest-ranked are the last to begin eating. While rank and authority commands respect for people at the top, they respect their soldiers by ensuring their welfare first. The army leads by persuasion, not coercion, and it is a failure to command by authority rather than respect.

If the DPRK wants to run such a militaristic state, they can take a leaf out of the New Zealand Army's book when it comes to feeding its people.

The title of this post was inspired by a quote from an article in The Economist, the photo depicts the late Mr Kim in 2005.