Protest by South Koreans Reveals Lack of American Civic Duty

An article on the front page of the New York Times yesterday revealed that "tens of thousands" of South Koreans "spilled into central Seoul" to protest a government decision yesterday. What caused such an outpouring of rage? You might be surprised to know that it was the simple act of the government lifting a ban on U.S. beef imports.

Now, I am sure the social, financial and health arguments on both sides of the beef-import issue have merit. To be honest, I don't really care much if South Korea imports U.S. beef or not (I'm a vegetarian, after all). But I took something very different from this front-page story, namely that tens of thousands of Koreans had the civic pride and interest in national affairs to mobilize an angry protest over an issue that, compared to the hurdles the world is facing now, is quite minor.

I couldn't help but contrast the outrage of the Koreans to the absolute passivity of Americans, who this week were subjected to two far larger government decisions that should have provoked outrage. I mean, if the Koreans took to the streets over a food-import debate (yes, I know that it goes to nationalist sentiments, but, again, it comes down to whether or not to allow beef into the country), what would they have done if their government admitted that it lied to them to get them to support a bogus war?

That's right, just last week, a U.S. Senate committee found that President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and other high-ranking administration members, in the run-up to the Iraq war, "distorted the facts, or said things that were not supported by the facts, [or] said things they knew or should have known were not true." What was the reaction of the American people? Silence.

Big surprise, considering that the New York Times reported on April 20 that the Pentagon had trained retired military officials to pose as unbiased experts on news shows in the run-up to the war. The reaction to this admission? Silence.

And then this week, the Senate again acted, as the body could not muster the 60 votes needed to kill a Republican filibuster of a bill that would tax windfall profits of the oil companies and direct the proceeds to consumer relief, as well as tax breaks for the development of alternative forms of energy. Keep in mind that the oil companies are enjoying record profits while ordinary Americans are struggling to stay afloat as gas prices hit four dollars per gallon, and the cost of nearly everything else has skyrocketed due to the increased energy costs. Also keep in mind that we are in a global warming crisis that threatens the very existence of humans on earth. Not to mention that the American addiction to oil is a national security problem, keeping us engaged in military activity in the Middle East to protect the country's oil interests.

With a glaring and obvious need for major action to address the short-term and long-term crises posed by the U.S. reliance on oil, the Republicans, as usual, chose to protect corporate profits at the expense of the interests of the American people and the national interest in developing alternative sources of energy. And the response of U.S. citizens to this decision? Silence.

As I discussed on Tuesday, because of the control of the media by a handful of corporations who are more interested in profit and power than serving the public interest, none of these stories got major play in the national mainstream media. So many people would argue that the American people did not have the information, the tools, if you will, to summon outrage over these issues like their Korean counterparts.

I wish it was that simple.

While the specific, nuts-and-bolts details of these recent stories may not have been distributed widely, it's not like the underlying themes (the government lied to make a case for war in Iraq and has no real plan to combat the challenges relating to oil, energy and global warming) aren't out there. Or, to borrow the language of the Senate report, the American people "knew or should have known" that these problems exist.

So it squarely falls onto the shoulders of U.S. citizens to stand up and call for change. Where is the outrage? The soldiers and their families paying a severe price in Iraq (more than 4,000 dead, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands having their lives psychologically, financially and personally ripped apart) are not quasi-citizens that don't matter. They are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers; they are us. Contrary to what John McCain thinks, when they are coming home is important. But when a major party nominee for the presidency says it's "not too important," where is the outrage?

Many critics of President Bush, myself included, have argued that his deceit and abuse and extension of the power of the executive branch has damaged our democracy more than any president in recent history, even more than Richard Nixon. But another way to look at it is that democracy is working perfectly in the United States. If the idea of a representative democracy is for government and its elected officials to carry out the will of the citizens, and the job of the electorate is to monitor the government and vote out of office those who don't do the job they were elected to do, then things are running smoothly and perfectly. Americans have failed in their job of keeping tabs on what is happening in this country, and as such, the current government in power, across all three branches, has run wild. If the people are unhappy with the actions of its government, they should act. But they haven't. So they get what they deserve.

Put another way, Americans shouldn't complain about skyrocketing gas prices, failed energy policies, a debacle in Iraq and global warming, since they, by not acting, have allowed these situations to spiral out of control. It's as much a fault of the electorate as it is the government carrying out the actual policies.

There is no doubt that the stranglehold a small group of corporations holds on the media is a major problem in this country that has to be addressed. But based on the evidence of the current conduct of the American people, it is hard to argue that a fully functioning free press that exposes the greed and corruption in government would make much of a difference right now.

An effective media is useless if the citizens are too lazy or self-interested to listen. If they lack the most basic sense of the civic obligation of being a citizen in a democracy.

You might think the South Koreans are overreacting, but nobody can say that they don't take their citizenship responsibilities seriously. It's shameful that the Koreans can muster tens of thousands of people in the streets over beef imports, but we can't muster ten protesters over the fact that the President of the United States lied his way into a disastrous war.

Where is the outrage?

Comments

[euripedes]

Mr. Bard, I'm based in South Korea and I'd like to say that not a small number of Americans and other foreigners have been deeply moved by this demonstration of civic responsibility and dedication on the side of the Koreans. In contrast to some misinformation that has been put forward, this is not an anti-American rally. The majority of the demonstrators have been careful to note to foreigners who have come to the vigils that these demonstrations are not directed personally at Americans. The huge majority of the demonstrators, mostly families with children, have been peaceful. When they have not, it's been because of the tactics of the police, who have beaten and bloodied peaceful protesters and fired water cannons at demonstrators at close range, causing eye and ear damage. These protests, targeting privatization plans in the health and utility sectors, are aimed entirely at the neoliberal policies of the current administration. Some Americans find the manner of the demonstrations distasteful, but their responses are often needlessly defensive. In contrast to the virulent protests of the 1980's during the pro-democracy demonstrations, the current protests are much more festive in nature and if anything, recall the gatherings at City Hall during the 2002 World Cup events. Many of the protesters are high school and middle school students and the rallies have included games and humorous parodies, not unlike those that took place in the US during the anti-war protests.

[DogwoodTree]

Mitch, I appreciate your well-intentioned praise of the Korean demonstrators, but as you yourself have admitted, you do not know the cultural and social context of the demonstrations. Present and former US residents of Korea are not sympathetic to these demonstrators and do not think that Korean demonstration culture is something to emulate, and this view comes through loudly and clearly on blogs maintained by American expatriates in Korea.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for your comments, DogwoodTree. I fully admit I know nothing about the cultural and social context of the demonstrations. Maybe the protesters are all wrong. And maybe using the Koreans as an example was a mistake. But I fully stand by my underlying premise, that Americans are not engaged enough in their responsibilities as citizens in a democracy.

You wrote in another comment that your friends and relatives voted against Kerry and Gore because they didn't like them. That makes my point precisely. If, as voters, they allowed the Republican smear machine to work and paint Kerry and Gore as being worse than Bush, or if they thought that Bush's policies were better, either way, they (and the American people) got what they deserved. Democracy worked. Garbage in, garbage out, as they say.

In the end, it's up to the citizenry to do its job. If they don't, you get two terms of George W. Bush and the disaster that goes with it.

[DogwoodTree]

And why didn't Kerry and Gore fight back against the smears effectively? Most mainstream media organizations aren't blatantly right-wing like Fox. I really think a lot of it has to do with charisma. Kerry and Gore lacked it. Hillary Clinton had some appeal with certain groups. Obama has charisma from head to toe. if he can avoid alienating certain groups like working-class white Americans with blunt quips about guns and God, he can easily outshine McCain and his marble statue wife. So far the Obamas have skillfully navigated through controversies like Rev. Wright and the whitey allegation.

Back in 2004, Iraq didn't look like a tar baby yet. Back in 2004, the economy was still humming. I think it is the sinking economy and the prospect of a long-term occupation more than allegations of lying that are turning voters against the Republican party. I say this as a resident of a Republican stronghold populated with its traditional constituencies.

[DogwoodTree]

I do not think Americans need to take to the streets. I do think my fellow Americans need to seek out diverse viewpoints, sift through them, and then make decisions about what is right for our country. I also think a little letter writing is effective not only at the federal but state and local levels. My Congressional and state senators and representatives have always responded to my emails expressing my views on key issues. My newly elected state rep. personally responded at 10 PM on a Saturday night, three hours after I sent the email. Elected members of the government know that citizens motivated enough to write personal emails are motivated enough to vote.

The 2008 election has certainly offered voters more interesting and appealing candidates from both parties than the previous two elections, and maybe that will inspire more active participation from citizens.

[DogwoodTree]

"The simple act of returning Bush to office in 2004, to me, shows a lack of engagement by the electorate. While the issues (lying about Iraq, general government neglect) might have blossomed recently, they were certainly apparent to anyone watching in November 2004."

I did not vote for Bush either time, but many of my friends and relatives who did so were really voting against Gore and Kerry, whom they found unappealing. The Republicans are already Swiftboating Obama and his wife with anti-patriotic slander, but I think the couple are charismatic and smart enough to dodge or wipe off whatever crap gets hurled at them.

Why did the issue of lying about Iraq "blossom recently" in the US? Some of our closest allies, including the French government and the British and Canadian public were skeptical from the time Bush started laying out a case. The real issue was not whether Saddam had WMDs, which he probably did, but whether they posed a threat, which most outside the US believed they did not. It is hypocritical for a US Senate committee to chastize Bush and Cheney for lying when only six of their number, Clinton and McCain not included, bothered to walk over and read the National Intelligence Estimate before putting on their war paint.

[DogwoodTree]

"The protests were actually fomented by middle and high school students. They have to eat lunch at school and worried that US beef imports could be tainted with mad cow disease. The parents of the children started to get involved and the protests grew. The So. Koreans are angry that the government failed to negotiate a better deal guaranteeing that imported meat is disease-free. "

That is the folk tale being spun by the Hankyoreh, OhMyNews, and other left-leaning news sources, but in fact, it was the left-wing Korea Teachers Union that organized the students and told them scary stories about Mad Cow and US beef. BTW, just because Korea hasn't yet had a case of Mad Cow doesn't mean Korean beef is safe. Korea's testing is even more lax than in the US, so inadequate that its application to the OIE was put on hold after the international organization that works to control animal diseases asked for more complete testing data. The OIE has cited a number of issues with the safety of Korean beef, including animal protein in feed and the slaughter of sick cows.

"The more we expose the hypocrisy and dishonesty of Fox News (and CNN and the networks, for that matter), the less power they have".

Only Fox and CNN? We Americans would be better informed if we sought out respected international media like the BBC and the Globe and Mail, rather than limiting ourselves to domestic news sources.

[Mizarfive]

Would you be willing to conjecture whether Obama is serious about his disparaging stance on Japanese and Korean protectionist trade policies? Is it merely a populist election ploy? Or is he the one politician who has finally decided to break the silence about one of America's dirty little secrets - the unfairness of the Korean trade policies toward the US, which the US has until now kept under wraps because of our strategic foothold in NE Asia?

[Mizarfive]

BTW, I am as liberal as you are, Mitchell, and agree with your main point that Americans need to be more involved. But, that said, I beleive Americans ARE more involved than Korean citizens and in more intelligent ways - through civic organizations.

Koreans stage these violent demonstrations and behave irrationally with impugnity because they have no respect for the process of law, as we do in the US.

I can share your emphasis on faulting the public so long as equal emphasis is placed on the MEDIA that has neglected its role as watchdog (remember the 5th estate?). As Jesse Ventura recently pointed out, they are no longer in the information business but in the entertainment business. It took more than a month for the US media to report the anti-American demonstrations in South Korea. Are they properly informing the public of vital trade issues that directly affect us financially?

As for the public's neglect of its civic duties, YES, the public should have clamored for Bush's impeachment, and the Democrats in Congress should also have been more adversarial in response. However, let's hope the public will speak through the ballot box in November.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree with you about the media, Mizarfive. However, I do think it's an easy out to say, "If Americans had the information, they would act."

As I wrote:

"There is no doubt that the stranglehold a small group of corporations holds on the media is a major problem in this country that has to be addressed. But based on the evidence of the current conduct of the American people, it is hard to argue that a fully functioning free press that exposes the greed and corruption in government would make much of a difference right now."

Yes, we need an independent media, not a handful of corporations who produce entertainment and propaganda. But that's just step one. Step two is an citizenry who cares enough to take action. My argument is, I haven't seen that quality in the American electorate. Voting in November is great, but if 55 percent turn out, the media will say that's a lot. And that's my point. It's not a lot. How is it okay that nearly every other person doesn't vote?

Bottom line: Media or no media, American citizens have to take pride in their jobs as citizens. Until they do, nothing will get better.

[Mizarfive]

Bottom line: The US supports this country as its major export market since the Korean War, during which thousands of Americans gave their lives. We saved them from the Communist invaders, got their "economic miracle" started with trillions of dollars in aid, and free military security. Yet xenophobic, pro-communist South Korea prints deliberate anti-American propogandistic lies and refuses to reciprocate with fair trade.

Obama has singled out Korea as a trade offender. "You can"t get beef into Japan and Korea, even though, obviously, we have the highest safety standards of anybody, but they don"t want to have that competition from U.S. producers," Mr. Obama said last month in a speech to farmers in South Dakota. Last week, near Detroit, he asserted that "if South Korea is selling hundreds of thousands of cars to the United States and we can only sell less than 5,000 in South Korea, something is wrong."

Obama"s overall message " that Korea has almost unfettered access to the US market while simultaneously closing its market to US goods " is correct.

[Mizarfive]

The example you're citing, S. Korea is a deplorable one. These are anti-American mobs stoked by a xenophobic media that has broadcast deliberate lies about US beef.

The protestors are not only ignorant but violent, weilding steel pipes against riot police and intimidating anyone in the media who might express a truthful fact. Teachers, radio broadcasters who have made truthful statements have been forced to resign.

At least 1 American citizen has been stabbed. In 2002, during the mass anti-American protests, Americans were assaulted and some were kidnapped and forced to read propaganda statements in front of gatherings.

This is all stoked by leftist elements as explained in this article:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/06/137_25950.html

Here's info about the last bout of rampant anti-Americanism:
http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/27/gi-myths-is-the-us-military-crime-rate-in-korea-out-of-control/

Yes, I agree Americans should STAND UP for our rights. Not by rioting ala South Korea, but by BOYCOTTING HYUNDAIS, KIAS and SAMSUNG and LG products.

Americans, STAND UP against SOUTH KOREA. BOYCOTT SOUTH KOREAN GOODS.

[Mizarfive]

You conveniently negect to mention that

1- there is NO MERIT to the anti-US beef demonstrations in S. Korea. The demonstrations are in fact ANTI-AMERICAN in nature and the mad cow hysteria is a deliberate excuse based on deliberate anti-American media lies and unscientific rumors. US beef is safer than Korean beef.

2- S Korea has a "protest culture" that is quite dysfunctional. Vilolent mob protests have continued to bring the economy down.

3- S Korea refuses to open their nation to trade from the US despite the fact that it became wealthy EXPORTING to America. They refuse to reciprocate. A Free Trade Agreement is now pending that will open the US markets to Korea, creating millions of jobs - in Korea. In the meantime, they perpetrate lies about US products, and have defamed the US servicemen who serve hardship tours in their nation to boost their economy at the US taxpayors' expense.

It's time to BOYCOTT KOREAN GOODS - at least until they treat the US fairly.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for commenting.

I didn't "conveniently neglect" to mention any of those things. I wrote very clearly that my point had nothing to do with the meat issue itself. I wrote:

"Now, I am sure the social, financial and health arguments on both sides of the beef-import issue have merit. To be honest, I don't really care much if South Korea imports U.S. beef or not (I'm a vegetarian, after all)."

You write that there is "NO MERIT" to the S. Korean complaints, as if writing it in upper case letters solves the issue. I get it. You think the Koreans are wrong. But that doesn't mean that, automatically, you are correct. And that's the point. If people feel like the government is wrong, they should act. The S. Koreans did, we don't.

I used the S. Koreans because it was on the front page of the Times. There are examples all over the world of citizens making their voices heard. The French have had massive strikes recently because Sarkozy suggested changes to pension rules. And the French had 88% and 87% turnout for the two stages of their presidential election. Are the French right to strike? I have no idea. But I do know that it's good that they care.

The simple point, which I stand by, is that Americans should be more engaged with what's going on aruond them.

[dedacherry]

I was glad to see that the Koreans were protesting the import of American beef .
Hopefully it will inform the American people that we have a problem since the media
is not reporting the facts.
The beef industry apparently is living in the moment and relying on the fact that the disease does not show up for 10 years after consuming it .
I don't believe most Americans are even aware that they are consuming genetically altered fruits and vegetables.
I found it so hard to believe I was furious that this sort of practice was allowed to occur especially with my generation being as health conscious and organically inclined as they are.
I have written letters of protest to congress. I have even written to the Dept. of Agriculture in other countries to warn them that the tests are not in on the effects of genetically altered foods and although the American people are consuming them they are not for the most part aware of this.
I often wonder if these foods are the reason American are getting fat.

Myself I won't touch the stuff and have to shop very carefully to find food that I can eat. Unfortunately I also can no longer eat at restuarants and I used to enjoy that. So I don't know how to stop it but I am really mad about it and do what I can.

[demockracy]

Since even before the Reagan era, the U.S. public realm has been under a kind of concerted assault. The sense that "we're all in this together" has always been shaky -- especially given the racist background of U.S. public policy. After all, the reason the congress didn't approve Harry Truman's proposed single-payer health care system was because the Dixiecrats were afraid it would racially integrate hospitals.

And nowhere is this assault on the public realm more evident than in public architecture. The U.S. used to build civic spaces like parks and squares on important spots. These were spaces that not only honored individuals by giving them a dignified, non-commercial place to hang out, they honored society, letting individuals know what was the experience (not the concept) of being a member of a group, or a citizen of a place. Now, parks are typically relegated to floodplain leftovers, and important public buildings are either converted concrete tilt-up warehouses, or the leavings of overrated starchitects. Public places have been supplanted by private malls, where the very walls shriek "Buy me!" (gee, I wonder why our kids are such materialists!).

Instead of pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, mixed-income development, the U.S. overwhelmingly builds single-use suburban sprawl housing developments that isolate their residents, not just from society at large, but from people of different incomes and social values. Not incidentally, sprawl builds long commutes and petroleum dependence into the very concrete of its streets.

[demockracy]

Such developments are often so far from stores that sending a kid out for milk is unheard of now. He'd have to drive -- in fact every driving age adult must own a car (the most regressive tax known to humankind). Children are raised as passive passengers.

It would be a miracle if the U.S. population weren't numb from this constant assault on its sense that individuals are part of a larger society. Especially the "post-modern" art and architecture we glorify is an expression of single egos, designed to be distinct, not congenial, and certainly not an affirmation of common good. Even Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings are a disaster if you ever want to use or live in one. "Falling Water" is a moldy, unlivable nightmare -- yet Wright is celebrated as a genius because he honored ego rather than tradition.

Koreans, in contrast, are deeply respectful of traditions and relationships in the way only a Confucian society can be (their crime rate is orders of magnitude less than ours, too). If you get a chance, rent "Dae Jang Geum" their most popular soap opera. No sex or violence, but lots of interest in integrating new discoveries with existing tradition, and navigating social structures. It validates society as a positive value, rather than simply something against which to rebel. That's the difference, IMHO.

Chomsky absolutely nails this Ayn-Rand-Everyone-For-Himself trend in the U.S. here: http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20080519.htm

[CharlieMarlowe]

The protests were actually fomented by middle and high school students. They have to eat lunch at school and worried that US beef imports could be tainted with mad cow disease. The parents of the children started to get involved and the protests grew. The So. Koreans are angry that the government failed to negotiate a better deal guaranteeing that imported meat is disease-free. Many So. Koreans were angry at the Lee government for other reasons and this issue was the last straw.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

Interesting point, Charlie.

I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of South Korean politics. To me, the point really was that the citizens acted in a way U.S. citizens do not.

Thanks for the context. It enriches my understanding of the issue.

[LanceJetson]

I'm getting a little tired of the "why aren't Americans up in arms?" arguments. The same MSM that has pulled the wool over Americans eyes about the perfidy of our present administration has also kept hidden or on the very back page any reports of the numerous large protests that occur nationwide. The administration has invented "free speech zones" to sequester protesters away from the camera's eye. That does not mean there is silence. The present government may be deaf, but that does not mean that citizens aren't screaming their discontent. Or maybe some have decided that there are better ways to voice opposition than taking to the streets, causing havoc and destroying property like the S. Koreans are doing. For example, how many states or cities have bucked bucked Bush's repudiation of the Kyoto protocol, and established carbon limits on their own despite the federal response, or the cities in Vermont (I think it was Vermont) whose town counsels have voted on impeachment motions. ETC. ETC. They may not be heard or listened to by the corporate press but that does NOT mean they (we) are silent.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

I understand, Lance, but I do think we need to do more. The simple act of returning Bush to office in 2004, to me, shows a lack of engagement by the electorate. While the issues (lying about Iraq, general government neglect) might have blossomed recently, they were certainly apparent to anyone watching in November 2004.

I think the kind of acts of protest you talk about are awesome. More power to the states, more power to those who write and talk about these issues.

But it's not enough.

In South Korea, every member of the cabinet offered his/her resignation after the protests. I understand it's a different culture, but still ... why can't we even get a real debate over impeachment in this country?

[unionnomore]

Americans don't do it any more because the Mc Carthyites have won.
Complain or criticize and you will get a torrent of abuse in person and second hand from the self appointed patriots wearing veteran organization uniforms,waving flags,and questioning your patriotism.Your property will be damaged,your ability to find work will ne impaired,and you can be fired.I've seen all that and more.Faux News commentators will scourge you by name and call you a pinhead,newspapers will print your name and address.
Nope.To get along you gotta go along.The freedom of speech and the freedom to peacefully assemble have been taken away by the self appointed patriots.

[Mitchell Bard - Huffpost Blogger]

Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to what you write, unionnomore. But unless people start pushing back, nothing will change. The more we expose the hypocrisy and dishonesty of Fox News (and CNN and the networks, for that matter), the less power they have.

It's time for people to get less scared and more active.