tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post7998513832733123569..comments2024-01-29T02:45:22.069+09:00Comments on The Korean Foreigner: Paying for North Korean Cheerleaders?John Lee (the Korean Foreigner)http://www.blogger.com/profile/01291995846376789325noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-65908272114771045092014-07-22T18:17:10.494+09:002014-07-22T18:17:10.494+09:00What you say is true that there are plenty of inst...What you say is true that there are plenty of instances whereby people have spent money for clearly immoral and evil purposes. However, does that make money evil? Money is only a tool. People can use money for whatever purpose that they wish but it does not define the person who wields it.<br /><br />The foolish, the immoral, morally bankrupt, or evil brutes will always use money as a source of unearned greatness. They will build themselves monuments on top of the corpses of widows but how long does their wealth last? When it comes to mere individuals, their money might last for a while, but it won't be long before others refuse to trade with them.<br /><br />It's a slightly different story when it comes to political leaders. Unlike the previous group, they have the ability to use force to make sure that they stay rich.<br /><br />But either way, what does money bring them? It doesn't make them happy. It doesn't bring them a sense of pride or satisfaction or purpose. It merely grants them a little more time in their lives before they die in ignominy, despised by almost everyone who has ever known them.<br /><br />Money refuses to serve them to give them what they crave the most. John Lee (the Korean Foreigner)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01291995846376789325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-46887159075022773542014-07-22T13:29:01.332+09:002014-07-22T13:29:01.332+09:00Having read (and enjoyed reading) your blog for th...Having read (and enjoyed reading) your blog for the last several months I'm not surprised to hear you answer the way you did. You have obviously spent a great deal of time studying economics and its functions in contemporary society.<br /><br />I agree with most of what you say, particularly that South Korea shouldn't be making exceptions to accommodate a nation whose policies have been consistently antagonistic toward both them and the North Korean people. I also agree with your belief that the human mind is sacred and your classification of money as a tool.<br /><br />I do take issues, however, with the idea of that tool being sacred and equating it to the ultimate realization of the mind and humanity’s potential. The idea that money and trade is an expression of human potential is probably true, but that potential manifests itself in less than savory ways just as often as not. There's no shortage of articles to be read on how money gets spent by the people with the most money-- a laundry list that one might find comparable to some of the crimes you listed alongside the North Korean regime.<br /><br />So yeah, I guess money is sacred in the sense that it is very important and certainly needs to be respected, South Korea shouldn’t feel obligated to spend the peoples’ money on North Korean athletes and cheerleaders, for example, but I don’t think that it is necessarily as ideal (“trading with one another is…. The highest compliment…”) as you make it sound in this post.<br />Stannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-14133396664145418092014-07-22T10:31:52.543+09:002014-07-22T10:31:52.543+09:00Certainly. When I say "sacred," I am no...Certainly. When I say "sacred," I am not associating the word with any kind of divinity. I am, however, showing reverence.<br /><br />But it should be noted that I am not showing reverence to money itself. Money is merely a tool. As I said, people use money as a medium of exchange. For example, if you and I were to engage in a trade, I would use money to buy the best of your efforts and you would use your money to buy the best of my efforts. If either of us did not put in our best and/or we found other trading partners whom we think can offer us better value for our money, we move on. Money is therefore the tool that we use to express our highest potential. Trading with one another is, therefore, the highest form of compliment that one person can bestow upon another.<br /><br />It is a way to say "I value the product of your mind so much that I am willing to give up a part of my earnings, which I have gained from the product of my own mind."<br /><br />And the human mind is sacred. Without it, we would be no different from any other beast. It is through our rational minds that Mankind has built skyscrapers, satellites, rockets, and medicine. The only way to exchange the products of our minds with each other peacefully is through trade and the thing that makes trade possible is money. If there were no money, there would be no widely acceptable medium of exchange. In such an absence, the only other alternative is theft and force.<br /><br />That is what I am showing reverence to - Man's highest potential and our ability to trade with each other our highest potential for the mutual benefit of all parties involved.John Lee (the Korean Foreigner)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01291995846376789325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-88708555923251668872014-07-22T10:18:42.086+09:002014-07-22T10:18:42.086+09:00Thanks, Craig.Thanks, Craig.John Lee (the Korean Foreigner)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01291995846376789325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-33296975037192311462014-07-22T09:39:21.193+09:002014-07-22T09:39:21.193+09:00I do... a little.
Can you explain what you mean w...I do... a little.<br /><br />Can you explain what you mean when you say money is sacred?Stannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-913318078282493927.post-23147230934357485462014-07-22T00:37:38.784+09:002014-07-22T00:37:38.784+09:00I like it.I like it.Craignoreply@blogger.com