Posts by RomyKerwin:
A letter of civil morality
September 2nd, 2014
By Romy Kerwin.
This is an answer to an article published in the Middle East Tribune by a
friend, a writer named Mohammad Moussalli. This newspaper is sold in
Lebanon but read throughout the Middle East.
There are many similarities with Korea, especially after the Sewol tragedy
and I hope that it will give you food for thought.
Dear Mohammad,
You have touched to a subject, which is dear to my heart. It is the role of
morality in politics and diplomacy. We all know that many dictators are
psychopaths without a conscience. Their entire lives are dedicated to
bringing pain to the people they rule or by frightening the world with
nuclear arsenals, such as Iran and North Korea.
The subject of morality in my work began after the Julian Assange
revelations and of course, with Edward Snowden. I asked myself many times
where to draw the line between security and honesty. Spying under all its
forms is dishonest and unacceptable when the spying includes your friends,
allies and neighbours.
For us who write about the many crises in the world, there is a feeling of
powerlessness and overburden.
We are also acutely aware of why it is important to put honesty first. As
Chip says moral decay mirrors political decay.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I_Vt) said it quite powerfully “.. a nation built on
greed will not survive morally, economically or politically”.
Moral decay exists first and many decisions are based on it. How can we
forget the scandals of Enron, the Lehman brothers in the US and many other
events that affected the entire world by ricochet but the most shocking fact
was the ease with which they lied to us and stole pensioners’ money.
We are also seeing so many cases of suicide, especially in East Asia. By no
means, do I imply that suicide is a sign of moral decay, suicide reflects a
society that has stopped caring. A society , which does not recognize those
of us who are fragile and in need of help. We are too greedy, dishonest and
uncaring to see the cries of those who prefer to kill themselves rather to
live in a rotten , where the rich always get richer and the poor poorer.
In my work, I have often asked myself if I was completely honest and with a
pure heart. I do work for a country, intent to bring transparency to the
social and political system. I have seen very little of it since the last
presidential elections. Now it is not easy to root out corruption totally
but with corruption at every level, we live in a nebulous cloud of
dissatisfaction.
I know so many diplomats who are asking themselves the same question. How
can we serve our country and maintain our self-esteem ? When I see the
world we live in, ravaged by war, cruelty and genocides, called ” ethnic
cleansing ” and anything that you want to add to the list, our quest for
truth, self-respect and humanity is easily dismissed and yet all the Korean
diplomats I know are good, loyal, generous people, with a great sense of
personal responsibility.. The aforementioned qualities, is what will save
us someday.
A working society has to be built on trust.
I am not a Christian but I have read a book calling Christ a political
agitator and that is exactly what he was because, like us, he lived in an
immoral system. During the wedding in Cana’an, he transformed water into
wine but in the sacred baths of the owner to show his form of piety had no
importance to Christ. It is never really explained to us. He chased
unscrupulous money makers and vendors from the Temple. Christ , in his
times, was already fighting for a moral society. That is what killed him.
We need more men and women to lead us to a better world, working for a
better nation.
In the US, hypocrisy and deception in politics abound. People have lost
faith in the truth regarding all the many mysteries that we are
encountering. This gave rise to the unfortunate wave of conspiracy theories
as though, no one could believe the truth anymore and the truth has been
twisted so many times that nobody is ready to believe anything. Conspiracy
theories are everywhere covering everything. Sadly, they are often true.
Nothing is to be taken for granted in Washington, DC anymore, if it was ever
believed in the first case.
It would seem that, the world needs to be destroyed and re-built with a set
of parameters or yardsticks that we will never find in our old world. It is
very sick and , Withholding a total holocaust, it cannot get worse.
How to start afresh ? What to do when refugees are turned away because the
host country does not have the resources to welcome them. In Lebanon for
example, there are about four million inhabitants of Lebanese origin but
there are one million refugees for Iraq, Syria, Palestine and other MENA
countries.
I learned the power of honesty from one set of grandparents who often said
to me :” In this house, we do not keep secrets. Things are what they seem
to be “. It became my moral compass because I want to live a live without
secrets. I want to keep it blameless, especially because I have influence.
I probably have endorsed more than 700 people on Linkedin, all around the
world and I am well liked and respected.
My grandparents lived in a small town and everybody adhered to the same
values. This was France. Life was peaceful and kind. We never locked our
doors. When a funeral passed by with a cortege of mourners ,following the
hearse, men would respectfully remove their hats and women would cross
themselves, whether or not we knew the dead person. Life stood still until
the mourners had passed.
For me, this is Milton’s Paradise Lost.
Life was based on respect.
Thank you, Mohammad, for reminding us of our own humanity and for writing
another article, which is at the heart of our distress and is relevant to
all. It is the search for a moral compass in a world gone mad.
These comments generated many positive responses and even though I have
changed it a little to reflect South Korean realities, the text is
basically the same.
I have sent notes to the NIS and want to share with you what I said. The
owner of the Sewol, a Mr. Yoo was murdered, shot by professional assassins
and left to rot in a deserted place. We will never find his murderers.
As far as the sinkholes are concerned, it is probably not due to the Lotte
Hotel or subway line Number 9. These sinkholes have appeared everywhere in
the world even in rural areas in Siberia or the US.
There are many subway lines in the world, you would think that Tokyo would
be full of sinkholes but it is not the case.
We had none in Toronto even so we have a subway running underneath another
subway. It is very deep and we have another city underneath Toronto streets
called the Path. Some people never leave it except to go home.
Temperatures are constant, very warm with palm trees and real birds.
There has been an erosion of the soil in some places and bad structural
engineering may be the cause, again corruption. These structural defects
fill up with methane gas, strong enough to cause an explosion that leaves a
hole in the ground. Even mines that go very deep into the earth do not
produce sinkholes, generally, they just collapse.
I am sorry for what is happening in Irbil after you did such great work
there. Hopefully, some day, there will be an independent Kurdistan.
As far as North Korea is concerned, it is still working on nuclear
armaments, which, some day, will be obsolete.
It is relatively calm as Kim Jong-un is not liked by the Chinese
administration. The visit of President Xi to South Korea first has had
quite an impact in Pyongyang.
The domestic agenda of President Park is not working and a Sewol bill should
be passed by lawmakers. President Park should dissolve her Cabinet and give
it a fresh start. Not much has been accomplished ,either in Foreign Affairs
or at home.
I was elated when I read in the newspapers about Tomiichi Murayama. This is
a decent man. He may have an influence on Shinzo Abe to reconsider
historical lies but there should be an olive branch for Seoul. Nobody likes
to start something from a position of shame and disgust.
I remain,
Yours Very Respectfully,
Romy Kerwin
Comments Off on A letter of civil morality
Double Standards: The Ripple Effect
March 10th, 2014
By Remy Kerwin letters of advice.
Dear Mohammad,
Your definition of democracy is brilliant especially because it involves the
fault of a country based on religiosity. Notice that I did not say ”
religious ” precepts but some kind of religiosity and fervour to discover
the double lives of politicians and sport figures that our society holds as
heroes.
Naturally, the United States of America comes to mind as a confusion of
religious affiliations, an extreme appetite for scandals and a Foreign
Policy that emphasizes covert and overt actions and reactions.
The most apparent quality of Mohammad’s language is its clarity, which comes
from an ordered mind and soul.
Mr. Mousalli believes that politics based on morality is the foundation for
true democracy. In one word : transparency.
The Ripple effect of US Double Standard shows us how the US foreign policy
has shaped the world into its actual mess by re-writing natural and previous
boundaries, by preaching peace and selling weapons at the same time, by not
interfering in stopping a massive catastrophe in Syria and Rwanda and other
places.
The Middle East and North Africa are burning to the ground, some fighting
factions armed by the Russians and others by the US. It seems that there is
an understanding of territorial influences.
Mohammad speaks of realpolitik as major corruption and corruption it is.
Mr. Mousalli is a very ethical, moral man and his own ethics have conducted
him to define democracy as based on morality, not religiosity, which is
hypocritical. How many tele-evangelists have abused the suffering masses to
enrich themselves ?
Here, Morality is seen as respecting the laws of the people as well as the
laws of one’s individual conscience. We have seen too many barbarians
without a conscience, such as Saddam Hussein who came to be the head of the
Iraqi people with the help of the US. There is no doubt that Assad and
Gaddhafi were psychopaths and yet, they were allowed to wound and kill in
total impunity.
Why ? the answer is because removing them would have gone against US
interests in the region.
I am very impressed with Mohammad’s description of Politics. Politics is the
conduit to democracy as it should be, untainted and transparent, reflecting
the views and demands of a particular people without outside interference.
Morality seen as transparency is the basis of trust. Let us remember how
low the concept of trust became in American politics after the Monica
Lewinsky affair. Bill Clinton lost face and respect and later a Sport
figure Tyger Woods lost his lucrative endorsements.
The United States of America was based on religious tolerance and plurality.
Unfortunately with the passing of time, these noble tenets have disappeared
into a mish-mesh of secrecy, a lack of freedom for citizens as demonstrated
by Edward Snowden’s files on espionage of ordinary people.
Mohammad also sees politics as an Art form. In fact, politics could never
be a science even though we are constantly repeating the past. A different
interpretation of politics is duplicity and prejudice.
I would like to borrow a quotation by Juan Rolando that comes from Adam
Smith ( 1723-1790 ) Renaissance man , educated in all subjects for my
conclusion: as so well seen by Mr. Mousalli ”
:Social and moral philosophies are interconnected “.
I am also working very hard to influence South Korea to think about its
social and moral responsibilities. At the end, pure democracy will remain.
Comments Off on Double Standards: The Ripple Effect
Letters to the Korean Government: U.S. Debacle
December 12th, 2013
Letter by Romy Kerwin.
To The Right Honourable Kim Sung-hwan,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Sir,
A falsely declassified document is creating much anguish in the US, which
always had a very placid response to North Korea provocations.
I have always told you that the nuclear technology was more advanced than
believed and that North Korea was armed by Iran, which is the only country
ready to work with North Korea about nuclear technology.
North Korea has the power to install a miniaturized nuclear bomb on a
missile be it a Musudan or other and they want to show the world their new
found power even though it has remained untested.
I do not sleep well at night and yet I do not think that you are a direct
target for NK, America is.
Pyongyang wants to show the US that it is ready and willing to attack them
should they want to, so that they will be treated with more respect and can
barter more concessions from the US.
I cautiously predict that the next nuclear operation will be a test to
determine how sound their technology is.
Attacking South Korea would not prove much, attacking the US, which is
utterly unprepared to deal with such an attack seems a better goal.
The truth is that Washington has no idea about what to do with North Korea.
This what admitted by John Kerry
In a language that I prefer not to repeat. Essentially, he said that the US
had made big mistakes about North Korea.
I wonder how much you can rely on the US for your own protection. You are
like sitting ducks at the moment. I trust that America will protect you
after having deployed so many was maneuvers and an intimidating amount of
warfare. It is enough for the moment to shield you from NK terror but in
the future you may need to be more self reliant and to develop your own
channels of human intelligence in order to always know where NK is , in
terms of technological advancement.
An alliance between the States and China may intimidate North Korea. The
country remains a bit challenge because not enough is known about it.
Perhaps you know enough but the correct interpretations are lacking.
Each day that passes is nerve racking. I wonder how a country such as the
USA could have ” gotten it ” so wrong . They were overconfident and that is
a mistake.
I hope that the next showdown will be an exercise to prove the North nuclear
might and not a direct attack on any country. Such an exercise would be
scary but would yield important knowledge about the North’s development.
I believe that you have the means to abort any attempt to defuse a direct
attack but the problem will not go away. There will be more declarations of
war and border incidents.
You have not signed the armistice of 1953, the US did. Perhaps that is
something that can work in your favour.
In any case, remain calm. I will repeat the words of President Roosevelt II
by reminding you that the worst kind of fear is fear itself.
President Park is a fearless person who had to tackle many tragedies in her
life and she is a good and wise leader. She is not a person who will give
in to fear.
As a country, you should be prepared for anything, hoping that you will not
need these preparations. Each household should have all the necessities of
life for three days. It is like Japan’s on going preparations for an
earthquake.
I receive about 100 e-mails a day. I receive intelligence reports and have
to spend all day decoding them and writing bits and pieces of information on
a wall, until a picture begins to take shape.
I am with you in this ordeal as is the Korean population in Toronto. Life
is going on as normal in the Korean community. Nobody seems to be
irrationally afraid or fearful. They do not take this last bout of tension
seriously but we all think of you in South Korea and we are praying for you
in churches and homes.
I will send any news of importance as soon as I receive some.
Yours Very Respectfully,
The Letters: Double Standards, the ripple effect
August 7th, 2013
By Remy Kerwin.
“Dear Mohammad,
Your definition of democracy is brilliant especially because it involves the fault of a country based on religiosity. Notice that I did not say “religious ” precepts but some kind of religiosity and fervour to discoverthe double lives of politicians and sport figures that our society holds asheroes.
Naturally, the United States of America comes to mind as a confusion of religious affiliations, an extreme appetite for scandals and a ForeignPolicy that emphasizes covert and overt actions and reactions.
The most apparent quality of Mohammad’s language is its clarity, which comes from an ordered mind and soul.
Mr. Mousalli believes that politics based on morality is the foundation for true democracy. In one word : transparency.
The Ripple effect of US Double Standard shows us how the US foreign policy has shaped the world into its actual mess by re-writing natural and previous boundaries, by preaching peace and selling weapons at the same time, by not interfering in stopping a massive catastrophe in Syria and Rwanda and other places.
The Middle East and North Africa are burning to the ground, some fighting factions armed by the Russians and others by the US. It seems that there is an understanding of territorial influences.
Mohammad speaks of realpolitik as major corruption and corruption it is.
Mr. Mousalli is a very ethical, moral man and his own ethics have conducted him to define democracy as based on morality, not religiosity, which is hypocritical. How many tele-evangelists have abused the suffering masses to enrich themselves ?
Here, Morality is seen as respecting the laws of the people as well as the laws of one’s individual conscience. We have seen too many barbarians without a conscience, such as Saddam Hussein who came to be the head of the Iraqi people with the help of the US. There is no doubt that Assad and Gaddhafi were psychopaths and yet, they were allowed to wound and kill in total impunity.
Why ? the answer is because removing them would have gone against US interests in the region.
I am very impressed with Mohammad’s description of Politics. Politics is the conduit to democracy as it should be, untainted and transparent, reflecting the views and demands of a particular people without outside interference.
Morality seen as transparency is the basis of trust. Let us remember how low the concept of trust became in American politics after the Monica Lewinsky affair. Bill Clinton lost face and respect and later a Sport figure Tyger Woods lost his lucrative endorsements.
The United States of America was based on religious tolerance and plurality. Unfortunately with the passing of time, these noble tenets have disappeared into a mish-mesh of secrecy, a lack of freedom for citizens as demonstrated by Edward Snowden’s files on espionage of ordinary people.
Mohammad also sees politics as an Art form. In fact, politics could never be a science even though we are constantly repeating the past. A different interpretation of politics is duplicity and prejudice.
I would like to borrow a quotation by Juan Rolando that comes from AdamSmith ( 1723-1790 ) Renaissance man , educated in all subjects for my conclusion: as so well seen by Mr. Mousalli ” :Social and moral philosophies are interconnected “.
I am also working very hard to influence South Korea to think about its social and moral responsibilities. At the end, pure democracy will remain.”
Casinos and nuclear preparedness
July 20th, 2013
By Romy Kerwin.
To The Right Honourable Kim Sung-hwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Having participated in Global discussions groups and listened to all view
points, I have reached a conclusion on what I really believe about two
questions which are so much on the Korean psyche.
The first one is about installing Casinos in South Korea.
I certainly disagree with Mr. Sheldon Adelson of ” Las Vegas Sands ” about
the economic effects of such proposition.
Mr. Adelson is telling you that a casino worked very well in Singapore. It
might be so but Singapore is not Seoul. It is a City State with a lot of
money to burn. My Vietnamese husband long ago ( he was killed in Vietnam )
used to tell me that gambling was the curse of Asian people.
When one sees all the casinos, which have been operating in Asia, such as
Macao and other such islands, there are reasons to worry. Many households
in Korea are heavily in debts, it would be very tempting for them to go to
casinos to try to win the money that they cannot make. The social distress
and emotional repercussions would be lamentable. Casinos will attract the
mafia and other organized crimes. When these groups have taken roots, they
are nearly impossible to remove.
Singapore is a rich country, which can afford to lose money, Korea is not.
You have done so much to become a fully developed nation, the envy of the
developing world that it would be wrong to lose momemtum at this point in
your History.
I am going to Peru next month. Lima is a poor city, except for some posh
neighbourhoods and some blue collar ones that generate revenue, such as the
very ugly Victoria. The casinos in Lima are guarded with great security.
Unfortunately, many families lose their livelihood in these places of
gambling.
It is as much a moral issue as it is a social issue. There are too many
suicides in Korea already, too much smoking and drinking, illegal brothels
and sexual issues involving underage prostitutes who would sell their bodies
willingly to acquire Louis Vuitton bags.
When a country develops as fast as Korea has, there are always steps
skipped, such as the development of morality, corruption, etc.
Why add more temptation and the possibility of more suicides ? Please
forget this insane idea for Casinos or make them only available to tourists
as they are now.
My second preoccupation are the polls that suggest that as many as seven out
of ten people in South Korea think that the country should develop nuclear
weapons. That is wrong. It would lead to an arm race on the Korean
Peninsula. I agree with Mr. Robert Galluci and Gary Samore that the US
umbrella is sufficient to protect South Korea. How could you live in peace
in a region dominated by nuclear armaments ?
If you have them, you might use them.
North Korea is an aberration and this county alone necessitates much
diplomacy and containment. Unlike many Koreans, I am practically certain
that North Korea will never ” nuke ” South Korea. They use awful rhetoric
but it is just that, rhetoric. North Korea is not suicidal. They want
nuclear weapons for reassurance and the ” glory ” of being a nuclear state.
In my mind, the best way to act is to accept them as a nuclear state, so
that there will be less provocations. Le us face it, they are already
advanced enough to be called ” nuclear ” state.
I remember what you have done with the Zaytun Unit in Iraq. Could it be
possible to help NK with their infrastructure so that they would open their
markets, become more affluent and slowly but surely abandon their warrior
state of mind ?
The solution is not more nuclear weapons and an irrational need to get
involved in a nuclear race but to open channels of communication if it
becomes possible. The right answer is LESS nuclear weapons.
Why would North Korea want to destroy South Korea and at the same time be
destroyed in the process ?
It will not happen.
Keep your heads cool. Sanctions will not work either. Iran is a good
example. When there is a will, there is always a way. We must destroy the
will, not the way.