2 Years In North Korea. Pt. 3/3
Banned from freely traveling by our own U.S. Government
Doesn’t it offend you when you learn you’re being misinformed and specifically misinformed for someones financial gain at minimum?
The natural question then is, who gains from preventing the DPRK via sanctions from opening to the world and from restricting people such as Americans from visiting there?
It’s not the DPRK citizens who benefit from these restrictions and violations of human rights, we can remove them from the list of prospective beneficiaries. It’s not the Americans or South Koreans even. What gain do we have from not being permitted by our governments to freely travel there? Of course they say, it’s for our safety. Thanks but no thanks, nanny state. Some criticize the DPRK for its authoritative government while at the same time supporting travel restrictions the U.S. Department of State unjustly imposes on the citizens it is intended to represent.
But back to the question: Who gains from the Korean Peninsula staying divided and how specifically the Northern half is covered in media?
It’s media and military arms suppliers, naturally, that financially gain from keeping tensions alive on the Korean Peninsula. Governments have now had approaching 100 years to officially cease the Korean War (1950-53). It’s long past time to try a different strategy.
The United States spent more than $34 billion to maintain military presences in Japan and South Korea between 2016 and 2019.
Billion, w/ a “B”.
Maybe try giving humanitarian and religious organizations with decades of experience in peace efforts in the DPRK half of this amount and see what happens, or shoot, not even $17 Billion, I’ll settle for 1/34th of that amount and show you what could be done with just $1 Billion dollars, that is if the U.S. government truly wants to see peace throughout the Korean Peninsula.
The current travel ban the U.S. State Department has imposed on Americans going to the DPRK (among other countries, 20 countries last I checked) imposed in 2017 not only has negatively impacted those most in need it is also a violation of our human rights to freely travel as citizens of the U.S. More so this violation of human rights is a violation of religious rights for those of us who are Christians that have a 2000 year history of going to all nations as a form of worship to God.
We have the right, and more importantly the commission, to travel the world.
We have the right to provide for those in need despite what country they reside.
We have the right to be peacemakers.
We have the right to show our love for God by loving all people.
We have the right to strive for positive change by cultural engagement requiring traveling and living any and every where in the world.
And call on the government of the United States, our representative government, to lift all travel bans on American citizens, particularly on Christians who hold citizenship in the United States as it is a violation of our religious rights to go to all nations as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, commanded us to do.
Ironically the Department of State’s Secretary, Anthony Blinken, Tweeted last week,
“In the 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, there has rarely been a time when delivering on its commitments has been more urgent or more consequential to international peace and security, development, and human dignity.”
But in this document, whether is legit or not is another argument for another podcast episode, available on the United Nations website, was proclaimed in 1948 as the world continued to rebuild after the Second World War.
Within this very Universal Declaration of Human Rights, per Article 13 subpoint 1 says,
“Everyone has the right to freedom of movement,”…
Come on, man!
Truly, with all due respect Secretary Blinken, I can’t imagine the chaos your job entails and certainly don’t want to add to it, but the department you oversee is violating the very document you mentioned and more importantly our own Constitutional Rights in the United States. There is no ill will here towards you or anyone working and serving in our government of the United States, but all travel bans are violations of both human and religious rights and must be abolished with all due respect.
Some good news on the abolishing of travel restrictions front did hit the wire late last week from of all places, California. I know it’s probably hard to believe good news coming out of California because most of the time we hear of lunacy and government infringements and the exodus of people moving OUT of there to freer states like Texas, Tennessee and Florida, but I digress.
From the state of California, Congressman Brad Sherman, senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee,…
“led 19 member of Congress in re-introducing the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act, bi-partisan (they all are, right?) that calls for serious, urgent diplomatic engagement in pursuit of a formal end to the Korean War.”
I haven’t had time to read the bill yet myself, but urge my conservative representatives in Tennessee (where I am from), particularly those who are professing Christians as I am to take this bill into consideration because as Jesus says, “blessed are the peacemakers” in his most famous sermon.
Why not support a bill to end this forgotten war, anyway?
Guess it depends what kind of pork it has in it. But let’s make a deal and end this war once and for all! As of now, this bill has only Democrat support and hopefully at least the Christians on the other side of the aisle will look it over, confirm there’s no detrimental pork, and get on board.
Hopefully this bill is not full of pork asking for non-related things like gender affirming surgery for minors or like HR 183: The Adorable Puppies For Our Soldieries Bill or a “Jay Walking Database: HR 74”.
We’ll see. I’ll take a further look into this bill and report back asap.
What can you do in the meantime?
Call your representatives (Senators & Congressmen) and tell them the travel ban imposed on us, U.S. citizens, violates our religious rights, and as such must be immediately entirely lifted and nullified.
Ask them to consider Congressman Sherman’s Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act.
Educate others of this religious rights violation.
Support us, current peacemakers, HERE on the Korean Peninsula and share with others about this opportunity to play a key role in bringing peace in the Far East.
Stayed tuned for continued coverage from the Korean Peninsula by subscribing.
Upcoming podcast episodes and articles include hearing from other foreigners who have lived and work in the DPRK and Northeast Asia regions.
Stick around, We’re just resuming!
