In her column in the Peace Weekly the writer reminisces on the many
people she has met, and lost contact with during her years of work. Of
that number were some she was able to speak to openly
and frankly. She doesn't know why but many of the relationships became
awkward, and gradually the degree of coldness increased.
Just
before retirement one of that group came to visit with the writer. She
doesn't mention what instigated the unburdening of her pent up
resentment but she fully expressed her feelings to the person. Made
known her hurts, resentments, criticism, grudges-- all poured out in a
short period of time, all negative. However, she admits that the anger
did not subside after it all came out. During the monologue the one-time intimate
did express herself.
After retirement she did remember the words of the visitor that were expressed that day and they
continued to reverberate in her head. The sentence that continued to bother her was: "Why do you think that everything you do
is right?"
When she let it all out, she also refuted
this statement that was one of the retorts by the visitor and her
response did get the person to nod in agreement, but the words remained
with her and continued to bother her. This is what they saw in her that
prompted the estrangement: everything she thought, said and did was
seen as cold hardheartedness by them, and now in every situation in
all circumstances these words come to mind.
North and
South Korea both have different understandings of the situation. The
North and South have different ideologies, and is it not possible to
say problems arise when we think that we always have the right answers? Isn't the problem between the
North and South basically that each maintains they have all the answers
to the problems and don't want to listen? And she concludes with the words of the Scriptures.
"Why
look at the speck in your brother's eye when you miss the plank in
your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take that speck out
of your eye while all the time the plank remains in your own?" (Matt.
7:3-4)
'In
random thoughts on religion', the columnist in the Peace Weekly, writes
about a woman who helped him in his work both materially and
spiritually. She was told by her doctor she had about 15 days of life
remaining. This news upset her greatly. She was far from her seventies;
the news left her in shock. She attended Mass and went directly to the
hospital.She never lost her dignity. She prayed earnestly for a cure and
dreamed of returning to her former ways.
He
heard that she was in hospice-care and went for a visit. "I don't
want to die", "I want to live" were her words, said with very little
strength. He visited her a number of times but all he could do was hold
her hand and and say nothing. No words of consolation came from his
lips. Our Lord hearing of the death of Lazarus and meeting Martha and
Mary he cried. Because of the human condition and original sin we will
all die. However, with the Resurrection of Jesus we have hope. Leaving the
woman for the last time in hospice, he had the consolation she was going to a better life.
Just
recently he had two other friends who were recently given a death
sentence. He was at one time very close to them and both of them, not
even in their 60s, were now in hospice care. The columnist was overcome with
a feeling of ingratitude towards one of them, and the other he grew
apart because of his friend's uncontrolled temper. Hearing that they were in
hospice-care he quickly went to visit them.
In
these times when we talk about people living to their hundreds it is a
sad sight to see these men who where until recently men with great
presence and vigor who were haggard images of themselves. Seeing them
in this condition brought tears to his eyes.
He
wanted to bring them to a knowledge of faith and give them a reason to
hope. In his own life the faith he had was a great consolation in facing
death, and he wanted to bring up the issue but they were in
pain and he felt it better to leave the job to their wives.
He leaves us with the words of a Germain psycho physicist Gustave Fetcher: Man
lives on earth three time,the first state is continual sleep in the
womb. Second stage is the present where we sleep and awake in turns.
The third stage is always awake. In the first state one is prepared with
the organs of speech, sight, smell and hearing which will be used in the
second stage. In the second stage preparation is made for the last
stage. When the baby leaves the womb the transition is like a death to a
new environment and new life. It begins with a cry and a whole new
environment with laughter and joy. The third state is one we don't know much about,
full of peace and liberty.We see the last stage as one with a very
narrow door and dark, but it is the way to eternal life.
Korea's
division into South and North has many intellectuals and authorities on
the situation giving their opinions. An article in the Kyeongyang
magazine by a student of the subject and a university professor gives us
his ideas.
Right
from the start he tells us of the difficulties of being objective
because of the restrictions that we face in society. North Korea can be seen as a devil and should not be in the world order, this will influence the way
the subject is approached. The other position wants
reconciliation, cooperation and co-existence.
When
Kim Il-sung died in 1994 and Kim Jong-il replaced him almost all the
authorities said he wouldn't last 3 years. This opinion was a heart-felt
desire, a subjective wish that overcame their thinking, which sadly is a
self portrait of ourself and a good example of our inability to
understand the North. Also the danger of wanting to white wash all that
the North does, and not seeing the situation objectively, and taking
everything we hear at face value is also not the way to go.
Many authorities have varied opinions on the
situation in the North with Kim Jong-un. Recently we heard news of
purges of leaders in the government and the appearance of government by
fear. Machiavelli is quoted as saying the prince rules the easiest
when the citizens are in fear. But when the fear turns to hate problems
arise which requires that the prince offset this fear with love and
blessings.
The
professor sees many different possible scenarios for the future
relationship. And would like to see the kind of unification that
happened in Germany without any blood being spilled He wants a policy
of engagement. The lack of a united position in the South is a great
obstacle to the unification of the country. Many are the citizens who do
not want the unification. We need to work for this unification among the citizens of the South, that will facilitate the unification of the country.
We
need to do all possible to overcome the hostility and confrontation
between the North and South, It shouldn't matter whether the government of Kim Jong-un is stable or unstable, we have to prepare ourselves for reconciliation and cooperation, dialogue, engagement and coexistence. And work for the realization of this dream.
In the
beginning of the 1960s per capita income in Korea was 100 dollars, in
2013 it was over 20,000 dollars. During the period of 40 years we have
seen an increase of over 200 times. Briefly, many citizens have become
'rich overnight'. Sudden accumulation of wealth and new social status
brings new attitudes: self importance, different from others,
wanting respect, and the desire to show off the wealth and
separate themselves from others.
A
university rector brings this reality to the attention of the readers in an opinion column in the Catholic Times. We see this in individuals who become overnight
millionaires but also true of a country-- immaturity, confusion and
anxiety.
Koreans
he says are absorbed with the myth of success. Society does look down
upon failures which promotes the myth of success. Sadly, this thinking has entered the world of religion. Imported from the States in the last decades is the power of positive thinking, the
ideology that has moved much of Korea: personal development, happiness
evangelizers, and the feel good understanding of life.
Like a flood this enters our businesses, our churches, and
even the academies of learning. Much of this positive
thinking has worked. Like a panacea--we are dealing with the placebo
effect. What is the object of the positive thinking? Positive thinking
is the motivating force that energizes one to overcome difficulties and
moves the will and gives hope, but it can also be the driving force
for ambition and the spirit of greed.
'Feel good' understanding of religion can be pervasive in society.
The power of positive thinking is important but it is not
religion. Life is not the thirst for continual prosperity and health.
This religion of prosperity is not the longing for the eternal but attachment to the transient and ignoring our follow citizens and
matters of justice. God is often used as a tool and as a means to
attain success and prosperity.
Newly rich do not realize they are being controlled by an
inordinate emotion. In their new culture of wealth they do
not realize they are not being 'more' but losing what they were
made to be. Consequently, the uncontrollable passion for education, extreme competition, and many of the abuses that we have in society.
We
need to have a win/win understanding of culture, with the teaching of
wisdom enabling us to live together with others, and he concludes that this
should be the aim and duty of Christianity.
We are
all searching for God. Hidden in the word search, is hope. We spend a great deal of time searching for the necessities of
life: food, clothing and shelter; this requires money, competence and
strength. We also search for the immaterial: to love and be loved, for acceptance and happiness.
A priest
writing in the Kyeongyang magazine wants us to reflect on this
searching-- a large component of life.
At times we do get what we
want and have great joy but this doesn't last long, and quickly
we are in pursuit of other goals. Not realized we are dissatisfied, and we begin to pile up discontent which makes our
existence difficult and unattractive. But this dissatisfaction is a good
for which we should be thankful.
Dissatisfaction
is not an emotion we enjoy, but important and necessary for it shows we need to search for true happiness.
Uncomfortableness makes us search for what will make us comfortable
while dissatisfaction goads us on to search for what will make us happy.
"The desire for God is written in the human heart,
because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw
man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he
never stops searching for: The dignity of man rests above all on
the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to
converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being.
For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and
through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully
according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts
himself to his creator" (Catechism #29).
Searching
here means more than going in pursuit and desiring but concretely to
search in study and examination. "Let the hearts of those who seek the
LORD rejoice. Although man can forget God or reject him, he never
ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness.
But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a
sound will, 'an upright heart', as well as the witness of others who
teach him to seek God" (Catechism #30).
We
all have the capacity to search for God and the dissatisfaction we have
with life is the very call of God, in us from creation. As we search
for God the writer wants us to remember that God is always in search of
us and it is only in him we will have satisfaction.
Those
who are searching for the fleeting and transient are really in search
of God, and we need to pray for them. And we need to remember that God
is leading us always with his graces and calling us to himself.
'Don't ask me crimes' is the topic of an
article in the Kyeongyang magazine written by a psychologist who has
studied the issue in depth. He discusses the origin and details of these crimes. In 1982 we had one of the first of these crimes: the rampage
shooting and killing of 62 and wounding 33 villagers by a policeman, angry with his live-in girl friend.
We have the
case of a man in 1991 who lost his job because of poor eyesight, and in
revenge drove his car recklessly, deliberately killing 2 and wounding
21. Another case in 2008 of a person who was angry at his living
conditions, and set fire to the houses in a cheap area of the city where
students were studying for exams and he himself was living. Besides setting fire to the houses he
killed in a knife rampage six, and wounding seven. These three
examples are the kind of crimes called 'don't ask me crimes'.
In
all these cases we are not dealing with a vindictive crime in which
one has a grudge with another but indiscriminate violence fueled by anger on those
one doesn't even know. These kinds of crime puts fear on all the
citizens. In recent years in examining these kinds of crime for a two
year period from 2012 and 2013, we had 109 of these crimes and 45 percent where committed by persons with mental problems. He lists three
conditions for these crimes: motives are hard to determine, the victims
are not those with whom the wrongdoer is acquainted, violence is perpetrated. A study showed discontent and anger or mental problems as the cause.
Only one woman
was involved in these rampages. The study of those who vent their
resentment on persons they don' t even know are from dysfunctional
families, and did not receive the family love that one would take for granted. They often did not see the sunny side of life in their formative
years, and 75 percent of them where unmarried.
The
majority of these persons had a history of crime and the writer feels
that we should be doing a better job in the education of these
wrongdoers early on, when they are in hospitals, welfare facilities,
prisons and homes for delinquents. More effort needs to be shown in our
education of the young people. More interest should be taken in preparing a
society with an atmosphere helpful in raising families. Efforts would do much in preventing these kinds of problems in
society.
Gambling is a strong addiction, deadly, and the cause of family ruin.
Since it is harmful to society the country has made it a crime.
Gambling, habitual gambling is penalized and the largest penalties are
for those that build places for gambling. Human rights group director
in a Peace Weekly column writes about the issue.
The
way the country looks on gambling is not consistent. When a civilian is
involved we have punishment when the country provides the space for
gambling we justify it. Race tracks are managed by the Korean Horse
Affairs Association and are helpful in the welfare programs of the
country and contribute to the use of leisure. Three race
tracks exist in the country and for those who are addicted it may be a
long distance to the track so they have off-track video betting rooms. A newly-opened off-track horse racing betting center in Yongsan, which is very close to many schools in a residential district of Yongsan, is receiving a lot of opposition. Off-track betting centers are called 'Let's Run' and there are many throughout the country.
According to government statistics
of 2010 we have over two and half million civilians addicted to gambling
and the government is inciting them to continue with these betting rooms. As long as it is a
money making enterprise, and since the money is for
welfare, the decision to discontinue is a dilemma for some.
Yongsan
video horse racing gaming room has been opposed by the residents and many others for over two years-- public opposition is great. Sacred Heart Middle and High School are very close to the video gaming room but the Korean
Horse Affairs Association is playing dumb, using wise tactics, and
helped with people in high places opened the gaming room. The Sacred Heart Sisters are also very much in the battle.
The reason it has continued so long, seeing the hopelessness of the
fight, is because of the sisters. It is like throwing eggs at a stone,
the eggs get smashed and the stone remains unmoved but they continue.
In
the beginning it was the school and the surrounding environment that
motivated the sisters but this has changed. Now not only the children but for those who
will be going to the gaming rooms to gamble.
The columnist praises the sisters for being real teachers, and willing to give themselves for a cause that has the need of persons to stand up for the common good, even if it seems like a hopeless effort.
