Where the Liberals Win

Can you guess where? Why it's over here. Can you guess why? Chicken pie. Nope. Fact of the matter is this: a recent poll shows more South Koreans blame the U.S. for the nuclear detonation in North Korea then they do North Korea's leadership. Why is Pyongyang not to blame you cry out? Because we--Americans, or at least our leaders--are inflammatory jerks who bring out the worst in others. I can agree to an extent, but only an extent. I'm not heartbroken though.

Some other points that you also probably didn't see coming:

1. A boy in one of my brother's classes said that the U.S. and North Korea were the same. Why? Because both have nuclear weapons and both are a problem. Ba-dum-bum-ching!
2. Stories found in the text book used at the school I taught at had delightful and friendly narratives dealing with members of Earth First!, disabled persons who managed to hike Mt. Everest, and persons who have built their homes entirely from recycled goods (airplanes or tires and cans). All are tales of success, focusing on life outside the norm where creativity and passion are the richest commodities known.

Wild, huh? I would have never thought that the first lesson I'd teach would be about "Julia Butterfly" who lived in a Redwood for two years to keep the logging company from cutting down such an old tree. Stuff like that. She was the member of Earth First!. HAHA. That threw me for a loop. Bravo to whomever makes this stuff. Oh! And then, after the grammar exercises, came exercises on understanding and retention that asked ideological questions. For instance: Do you think Julia Butterfly was right to live in the tree; why or why not? This question was very hard for a child whose society focuses on the group and not such radical and individualistic behavior. Yet, the young pupil struggled and eventually found the middle ground: Yes, Julia was right, because the tree was old. I took this in the Confucian sense: the tree is an elder, elders are superior, so you don't let them chop your elder down and make chairs.