At the cross road

Alternative Column: The crisis in Korea is worsening. Several elements of the divided nation have agreed to participate together in the Winter Olympics. I wouldn't doubt that secret meetings are being held between defense contractors and their tools in government to stave off the threat of peace.
Music has been central to many discoveries of shared interests. I remember when I first heard Fleetwood Mac, not the pop group with the pretty girls, the blues band. It still seems ironic to me that white kids in America had to have the Brits turn them on to this uniquely American art form.
The euphoria of the music captured our attention, then instilled the idea that humans need to sympathize with their brothers. No book or documentary, even by Ken Burns, could expose the despair caused by slavery and its lingering effects like Robert Johnson:
"...Ooh-ee I tried to flag a ride. Didn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by." Cream's rock version of Cross Road Blues was a gateway to understanding.
North and South Korea are planning to march under a "unified" flag in next month's Olympic games. The North will send a 140-piece orchestra and possibly a female pop group. The ice being broken by music led to an agreement to field a joint women's hockey team. Who knows where this might lead?
There could be further collaboration in the games. The two halves of this divided country will inevitably discover they have a lot in common; that is, if they ignore their so-called leaders.
I doubt that the people from the South will find a lot of reasons to adopt the ways of the North. But certainly the memories of what the North Koreans see and hear when mingling with the outside world can't be totally suppressed on their return to the totalitarian state up north.
What is "our" goal in our relationship with the North Korean people? "Our" is in quotes because it excludes the likes of Donald Trump, Rex Tillerson, and Jim Mattis. Those poor souls on the dark side of the border deserve better than to be tools scared into supporting narcissistic elites who are basically holding them as slaves.
It is always a good idea to take a moment to look in the mirror when we get all caught up in criticizing others. You can say it is the cost of freedom or our patriotic duty all you want, but the percentage of our income that is taxed equals the percentage of our time that we are slaves, as well.
We should look at things from the other guy's perspective also. Kim Jong-un sees 35,000 American military showing off at his border, thousands of miles from their home. What if there were North Korean jets zooming around off the coast of California? If Kim knows anything at all about history, he has a right to rattle his own saber.
The CIA conducted a coup in 1953, installing The Shah in place of Iran's democratically elected Mohammad Mossadegh. Saddam Hussein was another one deposed by our sons and daughters and tax money. Muammar Gaddafi, another leader of a sovereign nation ousted by American and NATO forces, at least didn't tolerate a prolific slave trade as we see there today. None of these interventions ended well.
I wish the unified women's hockey team the best of luck. In victory or defeat their hugs may be a sign that people can get along while respecting each other's differences. I hope the North Korean orchestra nails it and we witness huge crowds grooving to their music. May this spark ignite a flame of optimism that continues to burn. May the ordinary people triumph over the leaders and act like we do in everyday life.
Peace would be good, but as long as I'm at it, I'll wish for a market economy based on individual rights. So there.
Any opinions on this column are welcome at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com or through a letter to the editor. The blog is updated almost daily at www.alternativebyfritz.com. Try it. You'll like it.