Death of a Dictator

It was announced two days ago that Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack. It was alo reported that he suffered that heart attack from over work. He was only 69 years old, which is relatively young by western standards, but seems to me to be a pretty long life considering that many of his 'communist brothers,' aka subjects, die of starvation far ahead of that number. (Those that do make it to a later life are often shorter than their Southern Koreans). I’ve read a few articles about the man that everyone North Korean refers to as “the great leader,” he was listed as one of odder world leaders though in my opinion he doesn’t hold a candle to Gaddafi. What I guess I don’t understand is how his country who would be far better off without him and his cronies, can continue to worship him as some sort of God? He is only a man even if he was born under a double rainbow… How can you worship a man who is clearly a mortal, especially when you’re starving as so many N. Koreans are?

I think it goes back to common occurrence in my home country, and something that is replicated the world over, the "cult of celebrity" who are either in power or on TV. No one forces us to turn ‘Tebow’ into “Tebow the saint” but we do it anyway without any external political forces bearing down on us. I think if you turn celebrity into something that is countrywide, meaning the majority likes that person and then makes that devotion contingent on protecting you and your own I could see how people would just follow along. I’ve never experienced anything like a totalitarian society in my life. The closest thing I’ve ever come to it is reading ‘1984’ back when I was high school and then watching ‘V for Vendetta.’ Standing up to oppression is not an easy task, even monumental if you do it all by yourself. I would imagine it can cost you everything: friends, livelihood, and often your family. It’s easy to find reasons not to dissent. As I said before, standing up is a hard proposition especially when people are carried away in the night for it. Though I suppose if we’re really honest with ourselves we could all be dead tomorrow, so when then are we all so timid?

The sheer force of will and fortitude that is required is why people lionize for their dissent. Though the people who are most often respected are those outside their countries where we can see it at a convenient distance away from ourselves. Physical distance allows space for ignoring the sacrifice of others and makes it far easier to not do our own soul searching in effort to apply that transformative force in our own lives. Or maybe those people who can stand against the weight of public scrutiny are made from tougher stuff than the rest of us?