A very short, visual post to illustrate an important point.
Often I hear the argument made by theists that somehow atheism is responsible for the Communist and Nazi slaughters of the 20th century. Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot, and Stalin are all used as examples of what supposedly happens when atheism takes over.
But this image here of followers of communist thug Kim Jong Il demonstrates what I have said all along: Dictatorships with charismatic leaders are state religions, or cults. Not atheism. Many people in the DPRK are starving, yet these celebrants (likely party elites) hold their candles high. Who else but god or a demigod could inspire that kind of kind of masochistic loyalty, while a nation is suffering under such brutal rule?
What’s the difference between a god and a petty tyrant? You can see the tyrant.
6 comments
I totally agree. If you want more proof of this, go to youtube dot com and search for “songun” to find a wonderful collection of North Korean propaganda videos. The videos are more cultish than the most right-wing Xtian propaganda ever put out by any US church.
And while you are at it, check out songun-blog dot blogspot dot com. That blog will send your head spinning.
Sean, just an observation, these people in this photograph don’t look like they are starving.
@Aaron, I’ll have to check those out.
@Dennis. Take a look at North Korean GDP, or mortality statistics. Better yet, take a look at the view from space at night, which shows virtually no lights at all. These broad indicators translate down to poverty and starvation on a massive scale. North Korea imports large quantities of food and still can’t feed its people.
Yet they can manage to keep running nuke plants, and setting off crude bombs. I also saw an eerie photo of Pyongyang at rush hour: there were no cars on the street. Anyway, not sure what your point is. I’m sure the ‘party faithful’ are not starving. But like other communist fraud nations past and present (Cuba comes to mind), the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea’ is a national cult devoted to its leader, the people be damned.
Dennis Fisher,
The people in photographs released by the DPRK (such as this picture) of course are not starving. If you think that official pics from the DPRK would depict starving people, then you know nothing about the DPRK, or statism, or propaganda in general.
Dennis, you should heed the tip I gave to Sean on my first comment and go to youtube dot com, and do a search for the word “songun” and watch EVERY SINGLE VIDEO that the “songun” user account has posted there.
That should clear things up for you. Please note, however, that you will not see any starving North Koreans in those videos either, yet you will come to an understanding why this is so.
America is not far behind Northern Korea. There are starving children right here at home. I’m not saying any of it is right. I’m just pointing out how fucked up America has become and how simular to those countries we have become since religion has taken over our government. There is not much of a difference in, I was appointed by god and I am god.
sntc, as far as the dangers of theocracy are concerned, I agree with you. But I think you’d have to concede that the conditions in North Korea with regard to human freedom are far worse than here in the US of A.
Also, the slavish devotion of the average person to their national leader Kim Jong Il is far more advanced in NoKo than even the worst fundamentalist Bushie. Having said that, I’m no fan of Bush and his band of cynical politicos who pander to the theocrats. (Much as Bush spouts religion, he is a power-player first and foremost.)