Welcome to Expats Against Bush in South Korea

Greetings,

I'm writing from Seoul and like those who put together this effort starting in London and now elsewhere, I am deeply troubled by the path our country has been on, by the actions and policies of the administration, and I fear where it would lead if George W. Bush were able to actually be elected next year.

Therefore I hope to do my part in seeing a different result, and I welcome those in Korea who share these concerns to join us.

There are so many reasons compelling me to do this that when George Soros said he was willing to give up his fortune if someone could guarantee a Bush loss, I had to concur, though I haven't such a fortune to lose.

Here in Korea there are a good many American expats, of course many are connected to the military, others teaching or other professions, and when speaking with people I find the natural split in opinion; the military folks are inclined to support Bush, though many are poorly informed. I would like to make the effort to communicate with these people, and I think the way things are going, many are prepared to listen. Just last night I met an Air Force pilot who shares my concerns and fears and said (I paraphrase here) he was troubled by having to drop bombs on people for misguided reasons or corporate gain. Being here on what they call "freedom's frontier", 40 miles from the axis of evil, the reality of Bush's actions can be quite stark. Therefore, love him or hate him, every American living in Korea should be as informed as possible as they make a very important decision next November about what kind of future America deserves.

My political background is mixed. In college I was an active member of the Republican Club, even attending the California State Republican Convention. What I saw and heard there bothered and worried me a great deal, and ultimately I supported Clinton.

I then re-registered Independent and remain so. The Republicans since my break with them have continued to behave in a way that pushes me farther and farther away.

But what has been happening since Bush took office is well beyond my wildest dreams, or nightmares rather. I have never felt fear of my own government before. Last February I visited home and actually was nervous, for the first time, to RETURN, rather than the other way around. I realized one day how far it had gone, when I was explaining to an English class that I was pleased to be able to freely tell them my opinions because I was here, and they pointed out the irony, that I come from the land that invented and supposedly protects freedom of speech. I will not soon forget that sad feeling.

Last year about this time, they were burning American flags downtown and protesting against the US by the hundreds of thousands. Without fail, every Korean person I asked about what was behind all this rage answered primarily Bush, the man and his policies. This has got to change.

Hopefully, if we all do our part, next November we can close these websites with a "mission accomplished" banner.

Comments

[Luke]

Daniel,

My sincere thanks for kicking off the South Korea chapter. I know that there are a lot of expat Americans there who will jump at the chance of getting involved with EAB.

-Luke

[Harmony]

Daniel, Well-done! I certainly related to being afraid to return to our own country- a very strange feeling, eh? At any rate, I look forward to reading more of your contributions:-)

[abdul]

I meant to welcome you, but your last 2 paragraphs struck me to the core. Imagine what it is like being named Abdul. I am going to paste a letter I wrote just a few days ago to one of this nations leading political leaders (his/her name withheld.) I originally meant this letter to be private, but I will post it anyways to put things into perspective:

Dear _______,

my family comes from a country destroyed by communism, war and civil unrest. We came to the US in 1987 because we wanted to pursue the promise of freedom in the Land of Opportunity. We longed for the american dream and idealized the democracy it assured us. Our passion for America was exceeded only by our devotion to freedom. In this present time, I cannot help but wonder if most of us still know what liberty is. I wonder, have we lost our way? Have we not learned from our own history?

These days, many claim to love freedom, but if one has experienced life in a police state, then liberty assumes a deeper meaning. The thousands of imigrants who have escaped brutality and torture in their own countries may have an appreciation of it. The blacks who endured Jim Crowe laws probably understand it. The japanese-americans who were imprisoned during WWII know the meaning of the word. Those innocent citizens who were demonized by McCarthy might concur.

My parents come from a place where mere objection to the rules was enough to warrant death. They have seen hundreds of friends and family members jailed and/or murdered. Countless others have disappeared, never to be heard from again. Fortunately, my family had learned to leave that troubled past behind, to look forward to a bright future in America where we could do and say as we please. So why is my family reluctant to criticize the policies of our own government these days? What makes them so afraid? What has bullied them into such paranoia?

The erosion of our civil liberties is one of my greatest concerns today. Since the horrible tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, we have witnessed assaults on the very freedoms that my family sought when we first came here. We have seen the passing of the Patriot Act, we have heard our Nat. Security Adviser label opposition to our official policy as "treason." We witness allegations of the FBI monitoring dissidents. All the while, in what has to be the ultimate insult to democracy and my citizenship, the president's staff herds protestors into "Free Speech" zones to keep them out of sight. Now we have one of America's highest generals warning that the next terrorist attack will result in the military suspension of the Constitution of this nation.This is not the America I came to love. This is reminiscent of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

We are led to wage war based on lies and fear. We are told to fight abroad lest the enemy takes over our streets. Someone recently told me that must continue to follow President Bush because currently our options "end with either the West being 'Islamicized' or a complete defeat and retreat of our enemy. There are no other scenarios." To me, this line of thought is simply astounding. The fear-mongering waged by this administration is truly staggering and the people have fully bought into it. The dissenters are accused of being appeasers, of comforting the enemy, of not being patriotic. How dare anyone question my love for freedom? What I see is language and behavior that is eerily similar to what was said 40 years ago - half-truths and exaggerations which misled us in Vietnam and now have done it again.

When I see the government chip away at our freedoms, when I see a fearful public willingly give up its personal liberties or watch as we follow along without rational thought, I wonder if America really understands its own history. Have we really learned nothing from Vietnam? Do the 58,000 voices on the Vietnam Memorial no longer speak to us? Or do we chose to ignore them despite the fact that we hail Veteran's Day. I was not born until after the fall of Saigon - I had to learn about it in history books. It seems to me that this immigrant who spoke no english until the age of eleven has learned his history better than most who purport themselves to be patriots.

When I hear General Franks speak of suspending the Constitution, it sounds like a cheap attempt to smother any dissent, to keep the public frightened. The very nation in which Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty or give me death" has become the nation in which Tommy Franks tries to intimidate the public. I refuse to be intimidated! With all due respect to the general, he is not above the Constitution and I refuse to allow him to suspend it. I do not want to live in fear, not from foreign terrorists nor from the very government that is charged with protecting us. I no longer wish to see my family afraid to criticize the government. They, more than anyone, deserve better.
Sincerely,

Abdul Rastagar

[Daniel]

Adbul,

I'm very glad you shared this letter with us as you are certainly qualified to comment on what is real liberty. You state the case eloquently.
I also do not want to live in fear and I think that is the primary point in bringing in a new administration. I prefer the America I used to know. Proponents of blind obedience should think about how and why this country was formed. Thank you.

[pabsthooligan]

I'm leaving South Korea after 4 years so I can go home and support the democratic party. It's time to stop bitching and do something, because next year is too late. Imagine trying to live abroad for the next four years with Bush in the White House - proof that the American people despise the world.
I like living here, but it will be hell if Bush wins. We can deal anti-Americanism a death-blow in one quick election. Go home and fight.
We can't afford to stand by the sidelines this time. Find a congressperson who voted against the war, a mayor who refused to enact the Patriot Act, a gubernatorial candidate who won't put the tax burden on the poor and middle-class, or line up behind Dean, Kerry or Edwards, and SUPPORT THEM! They will give volunteers places to stay, food, even stipends. Six to eight months of hardship is a small price to pay for a lifetime of environmental protection and civil rights.

[Amanda]

Dear Abdul:
If this is you, Abdul the Chemist whom I knew a couple of years ago...please write me. I miss you, always.
Amanda Lynne B.
Boston, MA

[Brian]

Good for you, PabstHooligan. I actually met a friend of yours a few weeks ago... Mike Ferrin. He came by my cafe in Hongdae.

I'm planning on hosting a Beat Bush night at my cafe in a few months... giving some percentage of the profits to the democratic party.

Bush must be removed from office.

Brian

[Gabriel Bengtsson]

The hilarity of this site is beyond the scope of
my previous standards. Isn't the purpose of
being an expat to disconnect yourself from all
politics and become and citizen of nothing?
Politics is for losers. Expats should be using
their freedom of foreignness to discover deeper
meanings in life, rather than rallying people to
a fleeting political cause of the times.

[tunalover]

I'd have to disagree. I can think of thousands of reasons why someone would become an expat.

[Gabe]

Thousands? Really? And you can think of all of them?
I suppose my post was too broad. How about this? Becoming an expat gives you the opportunity to disconnect from politics and focus on your own life. I'm sure the world of politics will still be there regardless of what you did while you were abroad. There will always be plenty to fight for/against if fighting is what you like, but your fights will be better grounded in truth and logic if you spend less of your time obsessing about politics and more time learning why you feel the way you do and how to think. Apathy comes with more resistance to a person that actually has something real and personal to defend. Someone who spends all of his time with politics has nothing real and no personality.

[Concerned]

I write from Los Angeles as someone with close ties to both the US and South Korea.

Isn't it unnerving for you to sit in a country that is still under the controls of a corrupt US administration, ultimately? If you have any understanding of the South Korean politics along with how it ties into US politics, it is downright unnerving and disturbing.

If you were following the recent impeachment of President Roh Moo Hyun, you may have noticed that the ringleaders of the impeachment, which never had much of a support among the general Korean population, belonged to the Hannara, or Grand National, Party, which has proven itself to be nothing more than a puppet of the Republican Party. I saw the Roh impeachment as nothing than an attempt by the Bush administration to take advantage of institutions of another, "sovereign" country to effect a regime change. Why? Because Roh, a peace activist and a former human rights lawyer, was never seen in a favorable light by the military dictators, their political parties (Grand National and their predecessors such as the Democratic Justice Party), and their Republican overlords.

Remember that Chun Doo-Hwan, South Korea's president 1981-1988 and the first president in a line of political parties that culminate in today's Grand National, was Ronald Reagan's very first foreign guest. Also remember that under the watch of both Chun and Reagan, Korean Airlines 007 "strayed" into Soviet airspace under very mysterious circumstances - an unforgivable gamble with 270 civilian lives.

Back to Roh, Bush wanted a warmonger regime in South Korea, one led by the likes of Lee Hoi-Chang who would wreck everything South Korea has in order to achieve unification - but what good is unification of the Korean peninsula if the land is nothing more than a dead nuclear wasteland? A peace activist like Roh was never good in the interests of Bush, the Republican Party, and their Grand National puppets - hence the impeachment attempt. I am glad that Roh's impeachment articles were thrown out, and that he is back in power; even though he is not the most competent president there is, I'll have him over a puppet any day.

It is also worth noting that the Grand Nationals and the Republicans share the same sort of conservative social outlook. Grand Nationals favor keeping South Korea's current, antiquated "head of household" system where the head of household has special legal status - one that eludes almost all women. Meanwhile, the political parties that are gaining power today (Uri Party and Democratic Labor Party) have more progressive platforms much like those of the Democratic and Green Parties in the US. They call for a reform or abolition of the head of household system to give women more rights.

In any case, the Grand Nationals ought to be ashamed for trying to sell out a sovereign country to the most corrupt US administration ever. Apparently they have forgotten all about the shame Korea endured as a Japanese colony in the early part of last century. And of course, shame on Bush for interfering with the politics of sovereign regimes he does not like. Also shame on South Korea's Protestant groups that supported impeachment and keeps up ties to white supremacist cults in the United States.

[gabe]

All governments are corrupt and all are war mongers. The nature of politics is an ends justify the means mentality that is by its very nature immoral. Becoming so engrossed in politics will in its lowest form make you a liar, but if you're really good at it, it will make you the most horrible amoral person the world has ever known. That is what I'm saying. World improvement is meaningless without self-improvement. You call for “action” against Bush and say that you want to attack the root of social problems, but you forget that the root of social problems lies in individuals. Shedding your own morals and your own ability to think for yourself makes you nothing more than the lowest common denominator of society, which is nothing.

huh? are you angry, gabe?

[Daniel]

Though Gabe's comments clearly show the uselessness of responding very earnestly, I want to register a couple points for the record.

The point so many of us seem to be making this year is that this is not a "fleeting political cause." Not living at the moment in the USA doesn't mean there is any sense in not caring what it will look like when I return, and without changing administrations, it appears likely that irreversible damage to the country, future, and the world my kids will inherit will result. Though you think "politics will be there" when we return, I am afraid that Democracy will not be. If that shouldn't call you to some action, so be it, and enjoy your inner peace. But I disagree.

[gabe]

I'm not angry, but you are afriad and that's what allows what you fear to happen.

[j.j]

you could not be more right, Gabe. I am afraid of 4 more years of that coward Bush.

btw, expats can now disconnect from politics? you're joking right? I am far more connected to politics than most back home are. People at home are so apathetic about the world, it is downright dangerous. and guess what, I am connected to the politics of countries you probably never have heard of (unless we go to war against them, then maybe you'll remember the name for a few days)

[hardyandtiny]

Bush got my vote.