#10: Wars Can Be Averted (PART 2)

【Problem B: Deliberate Choice】
Recently, tensions have spiked to an alarming level with regards to the problem we all face with North Korea.
 
North Korea is an ailing country. United Nations reports that 13 million of its citizens – representing half of the country’s population – are struggling with famine. North Korea is so sick that they pour the bulk of their already scarce resources into military spending while turning a blind eye to its starving people. The country’s top priority is preservation of the current regime, and to that end, they reign with terror and madness. People are severely oppressed, and their basic human rights completely ignored. We must refuse to accept a ruler of such cruelty.
 
However, it’s also true that the United States is cornering such ailing country into desperation.
 
It’s quite obvious that North Korea and nuclear capability are a hazardous combination. Nonetheless, North Korea seems to believe that not only its regime but also the very existence of the country itself will surely collapse if it surrenders its war capacity. Hence, it will obsessively cling to its nuclear weapons no matter how forcefully the US intimidates it to give them up.

Besides, it’s at best an unconvincing argument, at worst a hypocrisy, when the US – possessing 6800 nuclear warheads – tells a nation to give them up. A world leader is supposed to do exactly that – lead the world by its own example. If the US were to truly convince North Korea or anyone else, then we must first lead the effort by giving up our own nuclear capacity. And if we say "Oh, that's too risky," then our logic is only as good as North Korea's.
 
It’s immensely risky to corner a psychologically unstable ruler of an ailing country into desperation, especially when his lifeline is at stake. Our fear is that mutual threats of war can lead to a miscalculation – waging a war. It’s an extremely delicate diplomacy allowing no room for error. Certainly, such a task can’t be entrusted upon the Trump administration that has just showcased its first 4 months of utter incompetency and moral corruption.
 
Moreover, it’s true that South Korea is cornering such ailing country into desperation.
 
Every year, South Korea conducts joint military drills with the US. In reality, these drills are armed intimidations conducted under the assumption of attacking North Korea and assassinating its ruler. In this immature act of showmanship, three hundred thousand South Korean soldiers and twenty thousand American soldiers play along. And every year, North Korea protests this armed intimidation by launching missiles into the Sea of Japan.
 
And, it’s also true that Japan is cornering such ailing country into desperation.
 
Japan has essentially vowed to fight wars alongside the US by passing laws permitting its rights of collective self-defense and anticipatory self-defense. And its Self-Defense Forces are currently preparing to conduct joint military drills with the US – another armed intimidation – to take place sometime this year.
 
At this point, both parties are intimidating and provoking each other. This is precisely the Conflicting demands escalating into heated exchange that we often see when the rulers deliberately drive their countries into a war. And both parties appear to be deliberately crafting a circumstance that enables them to profess that This war was inevitable because the enemy provoked us.
 
When one calmly analyzes these details, it’s quite clear that no one can rightfully declare that This war was inevitable due to an instantly urgent life or death situation. The problem with North Korea has been tossed around for over 60 years, with all parties Taking the time and making a systematically deliberate choice to advance war capacity.
 
At the Liberal Democratic Party Board Meeting on May 8, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe re-emphasized that constitutional amendment is the “Long cherished desire of all leaders and members of the LDP ever since the founding of our party.” Founded in 1955, LDP has ruled most of post-war Japan with an exception of 5 years in aggregate.

The fact that the citizens have time and again elected a party with unchanged basic principle for over 60 years – to amend the pacifist Constitution. This shows that the people, in essence, are Taking the time and making a systematically deliberate choice to advance war capacity.
 
At times when a ruler pushes to pursue his/her own political agenda, s/he promotes a particular point of view – often biased or misleading in nature – in an attempt to garner public support. It's called propaganda. Perfect examples of such propaganda are North Korean state-owned broadcasting system and newspaper. It appears that North Korea is awash with propaganda, from media to school teachers, 24/7. In communist countries such as China, and countries with dangerously concentrated presidential powers such as Russia, propaganda appears plentiful while freedom of speech and the press severely compromised.
 
Under such circumstances, people are left with a constant challenge to decipher the truth from fake news. As this constant challenge escalates into a state of confusion, people slowly begin to feel the emotional strain, day in and day out. And with amplifying news feeds citing “the recent rise in security risks for all,” people begin to worry about the well-being of themselves and their loved ones – which leads to a growing sense of Me-First. The rulers exploit such state of mind of the public in order to advance their own political agenda.
 
In a democracy, we’re blessed with more transparency and freedom. Nevertheless, we’re not at all propaganda-free.
 
In 2003, the Bush administration sought a broad public support for invading Iraq. Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction, which has become a deadly threat to the US. To protect world security in this era of grave danger, we must strike against Iraq before it’s too late. Such message was fed constantly to the public. As a result, Iraq War was deliberately waged. And despite too many innocent people were killed and great many more fell victim to unbearable injustice, weapons of mass destruction were nowhere to be found.

In hindsight, the constant message fed by the Bush administration can be called a propaganda. Back then, Americans had lost our cool and control of ourselves after the 9.11 attacks. Even then, our deliberate choice to not avert a war was a colossal blunder that can’t be reversed no matter how much we pray.
 
Today, Trump administration is foolishly seeking a public support for the travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries. Terrorist attacks have become a deadly threat to the US. To protect all Americans in this era of grave danger, we must stop Muslims from entering the US. Such message is fed constantly to the public despite two attempts of the ban were struck down by the federal judges. We know that very few – if not none – of the past terror attacks against the US were carried out by terrorists from the targeted six countries. We also know that most of those terrorists originated from Saudi Arabia, which is not included in the targeted six countries. As such, it’s quite clear that the message fed by the Trump administration is a propaganda.
 
Today, Abe administration repeatedly insists that Recently, our neighbors such as South Korea and China have become increasingly aggressive. We condemn South Korea’s illegal claim for Takeshima (Dokdo or Liancourt Rocks) and China’s illegal claim for Senkaku Islands, attempting to snatch away these historically Japanese territories. To protect the security of all Japanese in this era of grave danger, we must pass the Secret Information Protection Act, National Security Bills (or War Bills), Anti-Organized Crime Law (or Conspiracy Law), and constitutional amendment. 
 
But, is it really?
 
Are these deserted islands worth the risk of escalating territorial disputes to a point that may eventually threaten people’s lives, by re-writing the pacifist Constitution and laws? Or, is it rather a propaganda in an attempt to advance the ruler’s own political agenda of Achieving the long-cherished desire of LDP ever since the founding of the party? Of Realizing the dream of Abe’s grandfather and one of the LDP founders, former Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke, and Advancing war capacity constitutionally and legally?
 
When we hear constant messages catering to the ruler’s advantage, we must ask ourselves Could this be a propaganda? We must be extra cautious when a nation begins to accuse another nation of being unfair, insulting or a liar. We must stay skeptically alert when a nation starts to amplify people’s emotional panic with constant news feeds of deadly threats and grave dangers, and push for patriotic or nationalistic behavior to protect our people. 
 
We must keep a vigilant eye on the ruler’s own political agenda, so as to avoid being deceived into wars – like the Japanese people in World War II and the American people in Iraq War. Before it’s too late, we must awaken our conscience.

Read Next: Wars Can Be Averted (3)【Solution 1: Voter Accountability】
Read Previous: Wars Can Be Averted (1)【Problem A: Not So Suddenly】
 
Complete Series: Wars Can Be Averted (1)～(4)
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Read Theme: Violence/Peace