Korean Wisdom
This year we are hosting a delightful girl from South Korea through EF Foundation (I will call her Teresa, a name given her by some other students). I haven’t had a chance to talk with her about her reactions to the whole buildup of words and fear coming from the North Korean part of the peninsula. Today, she brought it up.
A teacher was asking students what they thought of North Korea seeking to build nuclear weapons. Our Teresa said that she couldn’t answer. She couldn’t say anything bad about the people of North Korea because they are Korean like her.
But the President of North Korea is Crazy, she said.
That is a very wise and healthy way to look at any group of people whose leaders do things we do not agree with. How would we like the idea that all Americans are painted with the brush of the actions of whoever our current President would be? Not very kindly. Can anyone really honestly say that “all United Methodists” think this or that? Not at all.
We do best not to try to represent our viewpoint as that of our group or our country. And we must practice the kind of just respect for others to separate the views and actions of a few with the hearts and minds of the whole.
October 12th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Too deep for me, for sure.