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There is no sense of honor in the words and actions by influential figures in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the ruling Uri Party leadership, and the group of people who fancy themselves "progressives." They are responsible for almost everything that has gone wrong yet never feel a shred of guilt. Instead, they try to shift the responsibility onto others. The president diverts attention by saying we must change the presidential term in office or blaming the press. The Uri Party passes the buck by calling for a regrouping of the political landscape. Some left-leaning intellectuals who once had a high regard for the government now sound as if they had nothing to do with the political situation, blaming “neo-Liberalism" in the Roh administration. They all make out that things are wrong only because the president’s term in office hasn’t been changed, journalists are acting unethically, the political landscape hasn’t been restructured, and the administration isn’t socialist enough. It’s like an old proverb that goes, "The thief turns on the master with a club."
Let’s start with Cheong Wa Dae. Why did the president bring up changing the presidential term of office out of the blue while everyone was looking at the failure of his real estate policy? Why is it considered “collusion” if journalists report the facts? Since when did the press leave the economy in recession and erode the Korea-U.S. alliance? Why are taxes rising? Why were violent demonstrators allowed to go about unpunished even after they beat soldiers and riot police officers to a pulp? We must distinguish between right and wrong.
The Uri Party need not try to rename itself, as if it could become a new party overnight by changing clothes. What matters is party members' deep-rooted view of the world, not the clothes they put on. What they should do is repent, sincerely, and try to discover how they managed to alienate the people so miserably. They should know better than to talk about "restructuring the political landscape, let alone taking power again.
It is also ridiculous for some left-wing intellectuals to turn on the Roh regime as if they had become an opposition party themselves, branding the government as “neo-Liberal.” Why are they talking nonsense when everybody knows that they have so far supported the regime's every leftwing experiments implicitly and explicitly? We are already fed up with the Roh regime's half-cooked nationalism and leftwing policies. If the leftwing intellectuals ask the regime to be even more excessive, what do they really want the government to do?
If they really want to reform the country and themselves, the administration and Uri Party should end their harebrained reasoning, deceptive talk and obstinacy. Let them take the path of virtue by reforming themselves before attempting to reform the world. Their holier-than-thou view of history may have worked as a driving force for the student movement. But they must accept the laws of nature: these views can be hopelessly out of date. How can there ever be an end to their misfortune and ours if they keep saying they committed no errors except in their real estate policy? Unfortunately, they lack the humility to examine themselves, or they have become afraid to face the magnitude of their mistakes. Changing the presidential term in office, an inter-Korean summit, the initiative to found a new political party -- all these prove that they have no intention whatsoever of reflecting, let alone repenting.
Any political group may put up a constitutional amendment for public debate, even when its approval ratings are in the single digits. But, as if in a guerrilla operation, the ruling camp suddenly brought up the presidential term issue without any effort to fine-tune it with the opposition parties first. The president once threatened to call anybody to account if they oppose the constitutional amendment. But this was never a matter that could be pushed through with an empty threat. A virtuous leader should cope with the difficult situation facing his nation with humility, admitting where he is to blame. He must never blame others for everything. If people have failed in their political adventure and want a fresh start, they should humbly ask for opinions from those around them. But ruling party members are simply saying, "Follow us!" without apologizing to the people for their mistakes. As politicians and human beings, their words and actions fly in the face of all reason. They should step down, not stick it out.
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