The belief of Freedom

North Korea and Iran; both want to own nuclear weapons. The important question is – WHY?

The more obvious underlying reason is that having WMDs gives a sovereign state more bargaining power. Why do these 2 countries want more bargaining power? Could it be because they feel threatened if they did not own WMDs? What are they threatened by? - Capitalism? Pure Democracy?

Let’s face it. People in power do not want change. Change means their power and influence are at risk. It’s applicable in every power house. Say Bush was made President again; would Guantanamo Bay stay indefinitely? Everyone truly believes what he believes in is correct.

So how do we manifest these ideals of ours? We try to find roles of power and authority. What do these 2 aspects give us? - FREEDOM TO BE IN CONTROL OF ACTIONS (e.g. Political).

The feeling of freedom of our actions is a very important factor in our way of living. Say you have a choice of marrying either of 2 girls. The first girl is hot like hell but she tells you that if you have sex with her more than once a month, she’ll divorce you and take away your entire fortune. The second girl is an average Jane but she imposes no such rule on you. Who would you choose? Even if you knew Jane had a medical condition which might prevent her from having sex with you at all in certain months, you would still choose her because you feel a sense of freedom to have a romp when she’s up for it, albeit probably getting less sex than the former girl.

Back to the 2 nuclear-proliferating hungry nations; do sanctions really work? The purpose of sanctions is to tell them, “Hey look, if you don’t be a good boy, I’m gonna take these away from you.” Sense of freedom gone. See, this is very evident in N.Korea’s reluctance to be a cooperative member of the global community. Sometimes, its actions are quite like a ‘angsty’ teenager who receives allowance from his parents but will jump at every opportunity to get out of their oppressive clutches should they decide to ground him for his mischievous deeds.

An alternative method which might yield better results for international cooperation is to give such countries a sense of freedom in their affairs. Treat them like a brother. Shower them with love. Then implicitly hint indirectly that such brotherhood and love are only possible because they are already doing a good job in being a positive member of the international community. Maybe they are not yet doing a good job. Sometimes we must pay compliments forward so that people will know it’s a good feeling to be part of the team and do better next time.

Let me give an example of how this is evident in many of our families. Say you are a wife who is deciding if you should do a bigger portion of the housework. Typically, I would infer a woman would like to see herself as a good wife who does not need to do more housework, but would do it willingly because she likes the wholesome image of her role in making the family happy and normal (as accepted within a societal norm). In response, the husband will tell her how much he loves her and give her a massage later. However, if the husband yells at her to do the wife thing and cook the dinner, will she do it willingly?

The international community could try pampering the leaders of these 2 nations and treat them like one of their own big boys. It’ll be surprising if they still make aggressive motions afterwards.

Disclaimer: I am not a sexist pig. The wife willingly doing more housework is a proven fact of studies. Even when husbands claim they do equal amounts of housework, wives still acknowledge that they do more than the men. But the women are happy with the status quo because they have compromised by make-believing that it is actually a fair arrangement.