Recently, a number of incidents in Korean society has exposed the friction between "superior" and "inferior" that caused rage among the citizens. A
columnist in the Peace Weekly gives us the examples of this
high-handedness on the part of superiors towards inferiors: customers at
department stores and parking lot attendants, security personnel and
apartment building dwellers. Once the abuse was communicated to SNS sites, those who have
been pointed out as non-feeling and cruel, were shamed. They responded: they have done nothing that warrants the shame
they have been made to experience. The customer is always right may have
something to do with this thinking.
A philosophy
professor at the Catholic University reminds the readers that even
before modern times this impudent behavior was not accepted. What is
the reason in our democratic society we continue to see this kind of
behavior in such a public way? There has to be another reason besides
the customer is always right.
Those in society who have
the money and positions of authority may think that what they are doing
for society in ways of service allows them to think they have control over the person. Our advertizing gives the illusion that if the
money is there you can have anything you want. No, there are things we can't buy. We can't buy the person who is serving us.
We
are introduced to the second formulation of Immanuel Kant's
Categorical Imperative: "Act in such a way that you treat humanity
whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely
as a means to an end but always at the same time as an end."
In our
society we can't solve all our problems alone; with our money we buy
products and services from others. With our purchasing power we can buy
what is offered but we don't buy the person. "I have used so much of
my money why do I get this type of treatment?" When we think we are buying the person we know what will follow.
In conclusion, the
professor tells us about a coffee shop where the customers are given a discount when they address the
employees by name and treat them politely. He hopes this kind of thinking begun in this one business will spread throughout all of society.
What words do we use most frequently during the day? In the family is it: busy, it's rough, thank you, sorry, I love you? How much time do we actually spend talking to other family members during the day? Would it be 30 minutes? 10 minutes? 5 minutes? One of the most important things we can do during the day is to relate appropriately with children. Will it be positive, constructive and warmly or will it be negatively, passively and angrily? The way children are addressed determines to a great extend their personality-- words written by a religious sister in the Diocesan Bulletin.
Recently Korean news has brought to the attention of the citizens not only in families do we have problems in the way children are addressed, but shockingly we have seen how teachers in pre-school programs and children centers, who should know better, and have been trained for their work, have used violence in dealing with the children as young as two years old. Videos have been released to the public on TV news, which have angered the nation. Only to be introduced to other pre-school programs where the same kind of violence was seen, prompting the government and parents to get involved.
The Peace Weekly editorial thought it important enough to give it space. To see this kind of violence with children so young, without any restraint, using the fist to punch a child was too much for the country. The teacher after punching the child without crying, the child picked up the food that was spilled, and the other children without being told went to a corner of the room staring at the teacher with fright. This was more than enough reason for those who saw the video to be angry.
The office of statistics has reported that each year about 200 cases of cruelty to students is reported and the majority of these are with pre-school children. The importance of this period in a child's education in character building is well known, and the need for teachers trained in child care is necessary.
At present without any experience in a class room, by the internet, listening to a series of lectures and getting the necessary credit points one receives second class teacher accreditation for pre-school.
The editorial mentions in Germany two years of special schooling, two years of classroom experience, and evaluation of personality and qualifications by a board is required, before they receive accreditation. More important than the one dimensional regulations to have CCTV in all the classrooms, is to make sure the teachers have the necessary qualification to be with children.
We are not conscious of the influence we have on others and the bad example we give to others by the words we use, our behavior, and moods should humble us, and make us aware of the harm that is done when money is the standard by which we judge what is permissible in the education of the young.
The devil is in the details, begins an article in the Catholic Times. Often it is the small things, overlooked, that cause the problems. A priest writer wants us to understand how this reality is manifested when speaking about matters of justice.
The social gospel is the foundation of our teaching: the principles of human dignity, common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, the universal use of our resources for the good of all, are all basically accepted by most Catholics. In the details is where we have disagreement. We are made in the image of God and have dignity, but when we bring up issues in our society and our place besides the poor, and those whose human rights are ignored we have a difference of opinion. We speak a lot about the common good but when it comes in conflict with our good we have a can of worms.
Solidarity is where one is willing to strongly participate in the work for the common good, uniting ourselves with the sacrifice of Jesus for us. However, the problem comes when instead of working to undo the darkness in the world we add to the darkness by being more concern with our benefits and interests.
Subsidiarity is respecting a person's autonomy, spontaneity and independence. To explain this principle he uses the example of a person who knows how to catch a fish and give it to another, not feeling a need to help the other to catch the fish. If we look at the family we see where this principle is often ignored and the government when she doesn't respect the characteristics of different areas of the country and uses benefits to the country as an excuse, to bring harm to its citizens.
What we possess is not only for our use but for the good of all. My money, possessions, and knowledge are to be used for the good of all. A very beautiful teaching we can admire from afar but when we get into particulars such as raising the tax on the wealthy and trying to achieve a better balance on equality we have confrontation.
In the Church Today Document of Vatican II #24 we hear: "This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." When we are in church praying and feel close to God, and the small detail of 'the other' comes to mind and the way we need to put what we believe into practice we can't just be content with knowing the principles.
Today in Korea at all the Masses we are collecting funds for aiding the poor overseas, another prod to open our eyes to the other, and not just a small detail.
"I don't like it. When you don't like something, that's it." You are cut off from any more interaction. This is a problem that a religious sister whose field of study is Media Ecology brings to our attention. Our emotions have become a consumer product.
She recalls going to a play. The heroine was a plain looking woman who was on the chubby side. The sister's first brief impression was one of doubt but very quickly she was absorbed by her performance. In the row in front of her sat a group of college students who began to giggle and laugh, spending most of the time showing little interest on what was happening on the stage. They were not impressed with the heroine; their emotional involvement had been shut down.
Walter Benjamin a German cultural critic, she quotes as saying: our popular art is no longer the type where we contemplate, get involved and attached, but see, hear, and enjoy, an object of feelings. Not something to appreciate but rather a play thing that diffuses our mental faculties. To the college students the external appearance of the heroine was all important. Their sense of sight had not been satisfied and that was the end of their interest. The play was a consumer product they passively examined; not an artistic creation they were to appreciate and critique.
When something is not liked, that's that. They are not interested in the product. It has to be interesting, fun and an object of amusement or they lose interest. "I don't like it." I don't like to meet that person." When they put in the word just, it becomes hopeless: "I just don't like it." This closes down all the feelings. When alone, they go to the movies for interest, when sad the television screen and laughter, when lonely the SNS where they can acquire friends.
In our economic system our consumer product is feelings. Consequently, the strategy is to use children and women as the objects for advertising. Our feelings take over from our processes of thought. Emotions become the tools and the consumer product. The process of thought is circumvented and feelings become all important. When the feelings are not satisfied then it's bad, the reason? It just is.
Even though the system is trying to deceive us we should not be sad or get angry. We are still the spectators who are active critics who are the creators of meaning. We still have strength to make sure that our emotional life is not made an object of the consumer society, are we not?
From the time of the division of Korea, North Koreans
have fled to the South. Those who leave the North after entering China
go to a third country because China refuses to grant refugee status to
the defectors, and considers them illegal. If caught in China they are
repatriated back to North Korea to face serious consequences.
The
Inchon Diocese's Committee for the Reconciliation of the Nation works
to improve the relations between the two countries. On Jan. 15-16, 18
young people of the two sectors of the country met in a School for
Unity Program. They began with some awkwardness but quickly developed
into a closeness of friendship.
There has been in the
diocese programs where those who were refugees from the North were
invited to live with Catholic families to accustom themselves to the
culture and the South Korean way of doing things, but this was the
first time that young people of the North and South spent time in a formal way to get to know each other, and dream of a united Korea.
Defectors
in South Korea are usually called refugees but in recent years we have
been using the words "people of a new land", less disagreeable to the
North than the word they used in the past: "people who fled the North."
There is also the word with a stronger meaning: "residents who
renounced North Korea." During this program we heard "people of a new
land."
After the start of the program on the mainland
with a welcoming and a Mass they came to the Gyodong Peace Island, and to
the mission station. Kim Young-Ai (Theresa) one of the committee
members and a parishioner of the mission station gave a talk on Gyodong as the Peace Island and how many of the citizens still consider
themselves as people from the North who now live on the island, but
dream of some day returning to their place of birth.
There
are still many persons living here in the South who at the big holidays
come to Gyodong with nostalgia for their homeland. They may be those
who left the North during the Korean War or family members of those who
left. The distance to the nearest point in North Korea is about 2.5
kilometers. On a clear day you can see the North Koreans working in
their fields.
The group was taken on a sight seeing
tour of the island by Theresa and they spent some time in the area
overlooking the North. After the trip they returned to the mainland and
spent time together in discussion and expressing their views on the days
activities. They want
to continue this school for unity in the future.
One of the parishioners gave me a sheet of paper this morning
after Mass that she found on the internet. Without doubt it was taken
from an English speaking site and is making the rounds here on the
Korean internet. It does have a interesting lesson for us, and a word of
gratitude for those who spent time in bringing it to our attention and for those who worked to give us a worthwhile lesson for their labor.
It
was introduced, so said the paper, by a cabinet minister at a breakfast meeting that he attended. He gave credit for the idea to a foreigner. The topic was the way we are to aim for a 100
point life. We are given the code and how to decipher it. Each letter of the English alphabet is given a number value from 1 to 26. The first letter A =1, B=2 and Z=26. As shown below.
| A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
One of those at table
asked what is the value of hard work for a life well lived? The
minister converted the letters into numbers and it reached 98.
(8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11). No, it doesn't make the perfect 100.
How about knowledge? Knowledge gives you 96 points.
Money as a goal? That is only 72 points.
Leadership? Gives you 89 points.
What then gives you 100 points? Attitude, gives you the perfect 100.
For a life well lived we need to change our attitude.
The
global world in which we live enables us to see and hear what is going
on in other parts of the world and hopefully makes us wiser-- but--
depending on our ability to discern.
South Korea has mandatory military service and is one of the few
countries without alternative service for those who are conscientious
objectors. A seminary professor visits the issue in his article in the
Peace Weekly on the Social Gospel. He admits to understanding the
Korean situation for security but has problems with the way it is
implemented. Why do the seminarians have to bear arms? He agrees that
all need to be responsible for the security of the country but this can
be done with alternative service for the country.
There
are many other countries with compulsory military service who allow for
alternative service. Those that have problems with serving in the
military, are not confined to prison or treated as criminals
According
to a report from the United Nations those who in 2013 where in prison
because they refused to serve in the military for religious or
other reasons were 723, and 669 were Koreans. This shows, he says, a
serious issue with which the country should be concerned.
He goes on to ask: What does Catholicism teach about this issue? "Conscientious objectors who, out of principle, refuse
military service in those cases where it is obligatory because their conscience
rejects any kind of recourse to the use of force or because they are opposed to
the participation in a particular conflict, must be open to accepting
alternative forms of service. It seems just that
laws should make humane provision for the case of conscientious objectors who
refuse to carry arms, provided they accept some other form of community
service”(Compendium of the Social Gospel (#505).
The
priest would like to see this issue discussed among citizens. Before the
change of government there was a movement among the politicians to work
for a change. The Catholic Church has made it clear where she stands on
the issue of conscientious objection but because of North Korea it is
not a issue that people want to discuss and this is also true within the
church. Since you have those who are serving the country at great
sacrifice, they do not look upon those who do not serve with
sympathy.
There are some Catholics who are in prison because of refusal to serve in the military but the overwhelming majority are Jehovah's Witnesses.
It is clear that the country is not going along with the rest of the
world on this issue, and they feel justified because of their particular
situation. Hopefully, with a change in the thinking of the citizens we
will see a change in the way we look upon the issue. These men who
return to civilian life after their prison terms will have a difficult
time because they are considered criminals, a label that will follow
them for life.
