The Trump-Kim summit is a gigantic step because it holds the potential for a healing on the planet from the divisions originating from global wars long past
Perspectives on the Trump-Kim Summit
Less than seven months into his presidency Donald Trump was seriously challenged by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Trump’s response was strong, Many thought too strong. But now there will be a summit with Kim, despite the anticipated criticism and cynicism of the “Democrat” leadership and Left Wing propaganda organs.
With the groundwork being laid by the Trump Administration in seriously pursuing a pathway to peace, it appears that the framework for a no-nonsense summit is finally set, as President Trump tweeted Thursday that "The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong-un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th." Trump tweeted. "We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" And, that is essentially what is at stake in this summit: World Peace, not just peace between the South and the North, but a peace that could signal a new paradigm shift upon the planet.
Regardless of the skepticism, the summit holds the potential for a shift away from the old ideological and geopolitical divisions leftover from the Cold War. Such divisions in that time between the two aggregated world blocs were literally imposed upon the tiny nation of Korea as it was split in half between a communist-imposed dictatorship in the north and the various factions of freedom in the south. This upcoming summit will be the first time a sitting U.S. president would meet with a communist North Korean leader. It is a big deal. It would be an even bigger deal if a peace treaty could be finally agreed upon.
What the world may have expected from the earlier provocation exchanges between the two leaders was the outbreak of World War III, but instead, the world is poised to witness what is likely to be the summit of the century. Amidst all kinds of speculation from all political perspectives, there exists great promise that peace could be established once again upon the Korean peninsula. Obviously, there are no guarantees in the global geopolitical arena, but President Trump is showing up as a world leader who stands behind what he says, and he did not have to draw any imaginary lines in the sand to have people around the world grasp this single point.
Despite a fundamental irony and quite a revealing hypocrisy within the array of negative comments from liberals and leftist sources, Trump’s words have been effective in getting to the peace table. Although his words almost always have a provocative effect upon almost everyone, Trump’s underlying strategy seems much more comparable to the strategy advocated by President Ronald Reagan in his conceptions of “peace through strength” than the obvious failure of “leading from behind.”
Of course, depending on the news source, and the driving agenda behind the source, there are varying degrees of acceptance that Trump had much to do with the events leading to the upcoming summit. But since March, Trump’s sincere efforts to take advantage of Kim Jong Un’s invitation to meet, have been publicly credited by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as well as South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. Trump utilized assistance from the South Korean government to initiate the Trump-Kim summit, which seems to be a win-win for all directly involved.
South Korean governments have been unsuccessfully attempting to bring peace for decades
South Korean governments have been unsuccessfully attempting to bring peace for decades, but now the world watches as the major players seem to be approaching the final stages leading to the summit. This past Wednesday, the White House praised the release of the three American citizens as a “positive gesture of goodwill,” as a sincere foundation for the historic summit. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who initiated talks with high levels in the North Korean government earlier this year (even before he was sworn in as Secretary of State) was the one to finalize the specifics for the summit, which now seems set for Singapore as confirmed by Trump’s tweet. It was important that Pompeo also returned with the three freed prisoners.
Another preliminary stage of goodwill could be considered the Inter-Korean Summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North Korean dictator Kim Jong
-un. On April 27, 2018, President Moon and North Korea’s Kim held their own summit when they met at Panmunjom, South Korea, and agreed to the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korea. This was significant since it not only set a foundation for a successful meeting between President Trump and Kim, but it also demonstrates that the two leaders could come to some agreement about the destiny of the two Koreas in the rest of the twenty-first century.
It is incredibly significant that the two Korean leaders could meet in their own historic summit because it signifies steps toward cooperation for the sake of the two separate nations and their people, but more importantly, it signifies an effort leading eventually to genuine independence from foreign intervention into their internal affairs. Ironically, Japan has been relatively free to grow and develop, or fail, on the merits of national leadership after the United States took responsibility to help the nation recover from the dominance of the militarists that had led Japan to seek world domination.
Unity between South and North Korea would favor both nations and the entire world
Unity between South and North Korea would favor both nations and the entire world. North Korea today is an impoverished, morally destabilized, and politically unstable nation, especially with nuclear weapons that could strike several global targets. It was created in the mold of the old Soviet militaristic machinations under Joseph Stalin who also sought world domination under communist tyranny. If North Korean leadership can seize upon the vision of the advantages of a free society, its people would benefit the most, without a doubt. But, the absence of the fearful and terrible nuclear threat hanging over the heads of the South Korean people could generate an even greater freedom of creativity and productivity. For those Black Panther fans, think Wakanda!
Obviously, the Moon-Kim summit was a gigantic step toward peace on the peninsula, as it also represents a deeper realm of forgiveness of the crimes originating from the shadows of the past. Healing will take time. The healing within the United States over the horrors of the American Civil War is still occurring in the twenty-first century, even though the war was fought in the 1800s. So, it is likely that the heart-healing aspects of getting over the emotional horrors of war would take a while in Korea.
The Trump-Kim summit is a gigantic step because it holds the potential for a healing on the planet from the divisions originating from global wars long past. Divisions and divisiveness are not conducive to human potential nor human progress. Cooperation amidst a healthy degree of transparency and verification in the contemporary world is needed if humanity will develop beyond the twenty-first century. Perhaps Trump said it best when he stated: "We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!"
For humankind’s sake, we should hope they will.
Dennis Jamison -- Bio and
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Dennis Jamison reinvented his life after working for a multi-billion dollar division of Johnson & Johnson for several years. Currently retired from West Valley College in California, where he taught for nearly 10 years, he now writes articles on history and American freedom for various online publications.
Formerly a contributor to the Communities at the Washington Times and Fairfax Free Citizen, his more current articles appear in Canada Free Press and Communities Digital News. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he was the leader of a network of writers, bloggers, and editors who promoted the candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Jamison founded “We the People” - Patriots, Pilgrims, Prophets Writers’ Network and the Citizen Sentinels Network. Both are volunteer groups for grassroots citizen-journalists and activists intent on promoting and preserving the inviolable God-given freedoms rooted in the founding documents.
Jamison also co-founded RedAmericaConsulting to identify, counsel, and support citizen-candidates, who may not have much campaign money, but whose beliefs and deeds reflect the role of public servants rather than power-hungry politicians.
