The Koreans don't do much Christmas, though they are playing seasonal music over the loud speakers here at the village. Or at least, that's what it's supposed to be, I guess. It sounds more like something coming out of an African jungle than the Christmas carols I'm used to. You know the kind of music I'm talking about. The kind where the singer has to run every note up and down the scale, and then screech for two or three minutes near the end of the song. Utterly revolting. But be that as it may, I'm working tomorrow (the 24th) and Monday (the 27th). Saturday and Sunday are my regular days off, so there's really no "holiday" here, and it will be the same over New Years. We had college students this week and they were enjoyable (they left today). If I have to stay in Korea for an extended period of time, I hope to get on with a college/university here. But I would prefer a college in the states.
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Our Bible study is continuing. It's been very cold here and we've had some sickness that's affected our numbers, but we are still going strong. Last night, a Muslim fellow attended and we had a pretty good discussion. I don't think he'd ever come face-to-face before with pure New Testament Christianity. But, for that matter, very few people have. I also touched a bit on the topic of worship/instrumental music, so while our study at the moment is on Genesis, it opens opportunities to talk about other subjects as well. To God be the glory.
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There is nothing more frustrating than impenetrable stupidity, and the United States' Republican Party is full of it. They clearly and decisively won the election last month and have done nothing since but give Barack Obama victory after victory after victory. The "tax cut" bill was a farce, the START treaty has the Russians laughing at us, and the moral disintegration of America continues full tilt with the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" homosexual military policy--any of which the Republicans could have stopped. Winston Churchill did say, "In victory, magnanimity," but he didn't say, "in victory, stupidity." It's one thing to be magnanimous; but if, as in the case with Obama, the magnanimity allows bad policy, then there is no victory at all--the opponents have gotten what they wanted all along. The Republican Party simply does not know how to govern. The Democrats know how, but unfortunately, everything they believe and practice is wrong and detrimental to any moral, economic, defensive, or social progress of the country.
As was the case with Rome, and every other strong and great empire, the United States will never be conquered from without until it first decays from within. When the foundations of a civilization or nation are destroyed, that civilization or nation will soon cease to exist, or, at best, be nothing more than a shell, or the barest reflection of its former glory. The Democratic Party is doing everything it can, as rapidly as possible, to undermine the foundations upon which the United States were built and which made the country strong. And the Republicans are either too stupid to see it, or too gutless to do anything about it.
Or, heaven forbid, they've come to agree with the Democrats.
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Not much war talk going on over here at the moment. The North Koreans blinked earlier in the week by backing down on their threat to respond forcefully to the South Korean military exercises, and the South is shoving it up their noses by putting up Christmas decorations on the border where North Korean border towns can see them--something the South hasn't done for several years. It's interesting being here during all of this tension; I'm not sure I'd feel the same way, though, if a war broke out.
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If I don't write again for a few days, then Merry Christmas everyone.