Melania Trump’s Anti-bullying Campaign can Start with Trump’s Stance on North Korea
Problem-solving in a way fit for a media socialite, Trump has jumped on the bandwagon of sequels with the hotly anticipated Cold War 2. He’s spent much of his campaign threatening North Korea, making pointed statements at eliminating the country through violent force. And this stands as one of the few issues that have bipartisan support.
The Democrats and liberals in general have been more coy in their language, advocating diplomatic and peaceful solutions, while fanning the flame through fear-mongering from the safety of their high horse. Indeed, it may be insincere to label this event a resurgence or sequel as much of the American canon is tied to this existential threat to capitalism via Russia, North Korea, Cuba, etc.
This isn’t to dismiss the valid grievances about how the North Korean elite and the Kim family treat the North Korean people. This is to highlight the lack of self-awareness or care in how American diplomats treat North Korea and the threat of nuclear weapons. North Korea lost at least 20% of their population from US-led bombing during the Korean War. At least 1 out of every 5. And for America, this event was merely a footnote to the larger conflict, a proxy war for imperialism. Is it surprising to find North Korea defensive?
There’s no recent event in American history that would even compare to what happened in North Korea. The devastating 9/11 attack (which killed .00001% of the population; granted, there’s more to tragedy than numbers), may be the closest, and was met with a swift increase in military activity in the Middle East. With this context, does it not make sense for North Korea to increase their defensive strategy?
Other arguments, such as Kim Jong-un’s unpredictable manner or the government’s oppressive propaganda, fall flat when coming from America. For starters, we have Trump. Plus, America is still struggling to untangle itself from its slavery past and incarceration present. The lack of self-awareness from both sides of the aisle point at the poisonous imperialistic ideas that still dominate American policy and public opinion. Advocating for disarmament is a just and important cause, but it means nothing when coming from the mouth of the largest military in the world. America’s words are nothing but cowardly as long as they speak the language of drone strikes and mass bombings. To say otherwise is propaganda, and this is the propaganda the American people should be worried about.
