#patriotism

I am now regretting the years when I stood with my hand over my heart like an idiot for the national anthem every morning with the rest of the class in grade school. Oh that’s right…teachers threatened us with lunch detention if we didn’t comply to this needlessly overzealous patriotism. As a matter of fact, I actually DID get a lunch detention for not standing up for the national anthem that one time…

mothman-flaptual:

With a bit of luck and planning, looks like I’ll be DADPATing t up in Houston this June.

“Teaching kids about racism and trans people is indoctrination.”

My brother in Christ, you supported the real indoctrination that has been happening in public schools for decades when you had nothing to say against having kids pledge to a piece of cloth or teaching them that cops are their friends.

It was a time of national unity. It was a time of uncertainty. It was a time of national effort. The second World War was the last great moment in patriotic oneness in this country. Civilians took jobs to boost war supplies, turned in materials that suppliers needed, and did without so our soldiers wouldn’t have to. Companies turned towards the effort as well, altering their manufacturing processes to supply ammunition, vehicles, food, uniforms, and other supplies to our troops in the European & Pacific Theaters.

Their advertisement was focused on letting the country know what they were doing. With plans to return to consumer goods once the war was out, it was important to let the public know what they were doing to help the war effort. By announcing their efforts to the public, they knew that consumers would purchase from them once the war was finished based on the national pride alone. All we had to do was win.

Today we present some of the finest advertisements from the WWII era. Companies like Goodyear Shell Oil, and Western Electric made it very clear to the public that they were aiding the war effort and helping the allies win.

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In May this year the Korean player Kang Yong Mi won first place in an event of the uneven parallel bars in the FIG ART Challenge Cup 2015 held in Bulgaria. She had achieved successes in many international games including the 4th Asian Gymnastics Championships and the FIG ART Challenge Cup 2014. So she is popular among the people. When she was born, her father who was an army officer was very sorry because he had wanted a boy. But she grew up clever and active. Her father sometimes said to her, “I wish you were a boy!” To this she would answer, “Don’t be sorry, dad. I will act a son to you. Wait and see. I promise you I will make people envy you for your daughter.” She was so naive and eager to please her parents that she made such a wild promise, and this was even present in her mind.

One day, when Yong Mi was nine years old, she went to the Pyongyang Students and Children’s Palace with her sister. In the gymnastics room, she saw pupils performing rhythmic movements such as turnings and handstands to cheerful music. At the sight of the scene, she was quite excited and felt a strong impulse to go in for it. Instructor Jon Ok Hwa who saw her invited her to perform some motions. She was attracted at once by the girl’s slender figure and sharp gymnastic sense. This was how Yong Mi set foot in gymnastics and she felt as if her dream came true. She changed over to the Changjon Primary School in Central District of Pyongyang so as to be near the palace according to the common usage established by the state a long time ago for the convenience of children engaged in extracurricular activities at the palace. As the days went by the girl’s ability improved and she was looked upon as a pupil with a bright future.

When she was 11, she was picked out by gymnastics coach Jo Yun Hui of the April 25 Sports Team who came to the palace to recruit new promising reserves. So, now Yong Mi was a member of the sports team. One day, she got her ankle injured in training. Despite her coach’s advice to stop training and undergo treatment for a few days, she went out to the gymnasium. So, she was severely scolded by the coach. The coach said,

“When I told you to receive medical treatment, it was not my personal demand. Surely you know that the state has placed many persons including an athletic science researcher, a dietician and a doctor in attendance on you and is looking after your life. But if you let your ambition break loose, it can be considered to be negligence of those people. You have to think of the honour of the country before your personal honour.”

Her father who came to the gymnasium to see her training, happened to see this scene. He said to her,

“You remember the promise you gave to me when you were a kindergartner. I wish you made that promise not simply to your family but to the nation.”

That day she wrote in her training diary, “I will try hard to be a daughter of the nation who gives pleasure to and is a pride of the country.” With this determination, she polished up her special skills and got over the hardships of training. Her efforts brought about splendid showing in games.

When she was awarded the title of Merited Athlete in 2008, she said to her father, “Father, I’ve fulfilled my promise. But my duty does not end there. It’s because I have a more important promise to myself.”

To keep her own promise, she is sweating in the training hall.

Naenara.com.kp