As Koreans fight to defend their freedom, Biden spits in the face of democracy
This is going to be a short post – events on the ground in Seoul are moving quickly.
What we know at this point is that Yoon launched a coup – declaring martial law, banning the meeting of the National Assembly, and declaring the opposition party to be North Korean infiltrators.
The National Assembly quickly went into action, defied the declaration and the thousands of troops gathered outside the building, and declared Yoon's move to be illegal, per procedure outlined in the Korean Constitution.
As of this moment, it seems that the coup has failed, but again things are moving quickly and a lot is contingent at this point. Yoon has gone silent, and the military has withdrawn from downtown Seoul and there does not appear to be any attempt to enforce the martial law anywhere in the country.
Meanwhile, President Biden has revealed his true self. In a statement from Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, the Administration stated that it was "watching the recent developments" and that "our alliance with the ROK is ironclad."
No mention of the coup attempt. No condemnation of the coup attempt. No mention of the bravery of the tens of thousands of Koreans gathered, right now, outside of the National Assembly to defend their democracy and right to self-government.
I think we can safely say that Biden's rhetorical commitment to democracy is just that: rhetoric. Biden clearly does not care about democracy, and his failure to protect American democracy from impending authoritarianism was not a fluke, but a feature. Biden is a self-absorbed narcissist, and his presidency has been an abject failure.
The lesson to be learned from the Korean people is this: no one will defend democracy except us. If we want to keep the right to self-government, we will have to take to the streets in the hundreds of thousands. If Trump attempts another coup, the Democratic Party will stand by and watch. We, people committed to democracy, will have to save ourselves. We will have to be brave, because the police and the U.S. military will comply with Trump's orders.