Monday, December 19, 2011

Kim Jong Il, dead tyrant

When an evil person dies of basically natural causes and has been living a life of unimaginable splendor and luxury right up to his passing, it forces us to revisit age-old spiritual questions about a moral balance to the universe and cosmic come-uppance. Does faith, as it's understood by the conventional Judeo-Christian worldview, include as one of its aspects a certainty that eternity is having its justice on such a figure? And is such certainty categorically different from a revenge wish, a fervent desire that that be so?

Of course, there is also the plethora of earthly questions that this event puts before us: smooth succession to Kim's youngest son, or factions within the military having other ideas? Less or greater regional stability? Continuity of North Korea's membership in the worldwide axis of terror and chaos-foment?

And, are the news reports about the entire citizenry of NK being in tears today accurate, or does the regime have a handy bunch of cryers it can trot out for international consumption?

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