Written by Frank Li
After some flip-flopping, Sony finally released The Interview (2014 film) on December 24, 2014. To supplement the controversy around the film and its implications to America, allow me to express my thoughts.
In short, I think it was thoughtless to make the film in the first place and it was a mistake to release it. Hear me out …
1. North Korea
Officially, North Korea is named the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. In reality, it’s neither a republic nor democratic (America: Republic vs. Democracy). Rather, it’s a feudalistic kingdom with Kim III being the king! Moreover, the young king appears to be a spoiled brat and a madman, not surprising given his upbringing by his insane father!
2. My position on North Korea
On December 23, 2011, I published an article on North Korea (America: What to Do with North Korea?). I just read it again, not a single word needs to be changed.
A summary of my position on North Korea:
I hate communism – been there, seen that, suffered under it! North Korea is one of the two communist countries left on earth (the other is Cuba). So I hate the regime in North Korea, although I have no quarrel with North Koreans.
As a feudalistic kingdom, North Korea is doomed. But it takes time to have a regime change over there, and it’s largely up to North Koreans.
As from now on, America should leave North Korea largely to China, who has the most interest in both Koreas. For more, read: America: What to Do with North Korea?
3. The Interview
As usual, both the extreme left and the extreme right in America have been wrong on this.
The extreme left emphasizes “freedom”, including freedom to insult a foreign king under the guise of freedom of speech, with absolutely no concern about the reaction of the king, the culture, or the politics over there.
The extreme right emphasizes “not to cave in to a terror regime”. With the MIC (Military-Industrial Complex) behind it, the extreme right seized this as yet another opportunity to have an escalation of tension, if not a war.
4. President Obama
Fortunately for America, President Obama was correct to intervene, because this was actually a government issue under the umbrella of “diplomacy and national defense”.
Unfortunately for America, President Obama got it wrong, again! Rather than doing the right thing for America (e.g. supporting Sony’s early decision of withdrawing the release), President Obama pressured Sony to release it, seizing it as a rare opportunity to please both extremes, without truly understanding its long-term implications to America, nor the basics in international diplomacy: do not (unnecessarily) insult a foreign leader based on your own values!
5. Discussion
Once again, Kim III is a spoiled brat and a madman!
The wisest thing to do with a madman is to leave him alone. The dumbest thing to do is to provoke him unnecessarily. America has just done the dumbest thing, again!
Will the release of the film have more serious repercussions than exchanging insults (e.g. North Korea hurls insults at Obama)? I hope not. But doing one dumb thing after another accumulatively will have deadly consequences, over time!
Think, President Obama! For more, read: Barack Obama vs. Richard Nixon.
Think, America! Is Dennis Rodman now the best thinker and the best comedian in America?
6. Closing
Stop provoking a madman in an unfortunate country! More generally, America must advocate for peace, not war!
