The road to praising communism is paved with good intentions?
Last weekend while enjoying some truly fantastic art at the Gwangju Art Biennale. Thoughtful, dramatic pieces. Meditative pieces and glittering spectacles of art. But in the 5th gallery, titled "U.S.'s Imperial War", was an exhibit that catered to the growing anger at America, and it gave me pause. Not because I cannot conceive of hatred towards America. I can. I just couldn't follow this artist's conclusions.
He aligned his political philosophies with communist China and guerrilla soldiers in Venezuela. He touted the failures of a democratic system while supporting China’s communist hero, Mao Zedong. Never mind that an earlier exhibit showcasing China's doctored photos to paint communism in a favorable light, or that in a communist society his rights are not so protected or that he, in fact, lives in America. Never mind, indeed.
He claimed that Cuba was a slap in the face to American democracy because of its resoluteness and success. We wondered why then did so many Cubans make the perilous journey to Florida? I wondered why communist North Korea was to be lauded when millions of its citizens die as The Great Leader uses monetary aid to import luxuries like alcohol and movies and explore nuclear arms. Why in communist Vietnam do Vietnamese proudly take advantage of capitalism, and why censorship in communist China had not been addressed?
This was a tricky exhibit for me. While voicing a strong criticism of American policy and war-mongering is near and dear to my heart, the lack of counter balance by examining the flaws of his heroes left a lot of unanswered questions.
Anti-American sentiment continues to grow in S. Korea. Some businesses reserve the right not to serve Americans, there are protests, and there are petitions to have us all removed from the country. While I’ve been assured that this is only a small slice of the Korean people, these days the attitude appears to be gaining momentum. I’ve been told by a friend that she would hate Americans if she hadn’t of met us, and I sometimes sense our friends testing the water to find out what kind of Americans we are by engaging us in questions about American policy. At least they ask, there are many that take a pro-communist exhibit as an excuse to hate us all.
He aligned his political philosophies with communist China and guerrilla soldiers in Venezuela. He touted the failures of a democratic system while supporting China’s communist hero, Mao Zedong. Never mind that an earlier exhibit showcasing China's doctored photos to paint communism in a favorable light, or that in a communist society his rights are not so protected or that he, in fact, lives in America. Never mind, indeed.
He claimed that Cuba was a slap in the face to American democracy because of its resoluteness and success. We wondered why then did so many Cubans make the perilous journey to Florida? I wondered why communist North Korea was to be lauded when millions of its citizens die as The Great Leader uses monetary aid to import luxuries like alcohol and movies and explore nuclear arms. Why in communist Vietnam do Vietnamese proudly take advantage of capitalism, and why censorship in communist China had not been addressed?
This was a tricky exhibit for me. While voicing a strong criticism of American policy and war-mongering is near and dear to my heart, the lack of counter balance by examining the flaws of his heroes left a lot of unanswered questions.
Anti-American sentiment continues to grow in S. Korea. Some businesses reserve the right not to serve Americans, there are protests, and there are petitions to have us all removed from the country. While I’ve been assured that this is only a small slice of the Korean people, these days the attitude appears to be gaining momentum. I’ve been told by a friend that she would hate Americans if she hadn’t of met us, and I sometimes sense our friends testing the water to find out what kind of Americans we are by engaging us in questions about American policy. At least they ask, there are many that take a pro-communist exhibit as an excuse to hate us all.
Comments
it is always irritating that living in a democracy that values free speech means often letting everyone know your dirty laundry. yet really awful countries hide the really really bad things they do to the rest of the world.