Skip to main content

Rome has come to you (The Korea Times)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. 
    
A recent Korea Times editorial advised American-retail store Costco to recall the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Sage advice, sure, but its expiration date has come and gone. That old saying needs to be updated as, “Rome has come to you.”
 
 "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" allegedly goes back to ancient Rome when St. Augustine, on a visit, was advised by the bishop of Milan: "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are." It has been shortened to: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
 
That is practical wisdom for those who enjoy staying out of jail or avoiding an embarrassing faux pas. But should one "do as the Romans do" or turn a blind eye when the locals engage in barbarism, oppression, or just plain old stupidity? Literally doing as the Romans did could have also meant engaging in pedophilia, slavery, rape, and a host of other barbaric things that were legal or condoned in ancient Rome.

Travel allegedly broadens one's horizons, but as a traveler or expat, "When in Rome" means restricting oneself by engaging in a Star Trek Prime Directive of non-interference. "No identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space or the fact that there are other worlds or civilizations." In other words, stop being yourself and leave your own culture at the immigration checkpoint.
 
An incredibly globalized world with instant interaction among wired and mobile people produces new thoughts and new ways through the crossroads of mutual exchange. The static passivity of "When in Rome" is out of date in such a dynamic world.
 
To my friends who warn of anarchy when I applaud Costco and advocate evading laws that block peaceful and voluntary exchanges I ask, should a visitor in the past have gone along with Japan's colonization of this country?
 
I doubt that a Korea Times staff editorial, if the paper had been allowed to exist then, would have editorialized in favor of obeying what was then the law of the land. It surely would have been a violation of local law to rescue slaves from Korea before slavery was officially ended here in 1894 but I would have cheered on such rescuers.
 
Internationally, were outsiders wrong to aid Jews in Nazi Germany, blacks under South Africa's apartheid or American slavery and Jim Crow, or North Koreans seeking to flee North Korea through China today?
 
As the Charles Dickens character Mr. Bumble said, "If the law supposes that, the law is a ass _ a idiot." That a body of government, even a democratically elected one, passes a law or regulation restricting economic or personal liberty doesn't mean that citizens must always acquiesce.
 
I will admit to breaking the law only once in Korea (or, "non-cooperation," as Mahatma Gandhi might have said). Earlier this year a good friend of mine organized a swing dance party at a hotel club in Seoul. We were warned in advance that the club did not have a dancing license, thus, no dancing was allowed.
 
I considered asking my mom to write a letter to the Seoul mayor, letting him know that she wouldn't mind if I danced at a hotel club lacking a proper dance license. I also thought about being more radical by organizing an unauthorized dance party in front of City Hall, but decided I didn't want to spend a night in jail. Instead, I violated the local ordinance by swing dancing at the hotel club, without permission, with other brave souls.
 
But in my defense, I was dancing with Romans.

The writer is a visiting scholar at the Liberty Society in Seoul, Korea. He can be reached at caseyradio@daum.net.

* * *
The Korea Times

Popular posts from this blog

2022-12-09 Seoul Honorary Citizenship (ceremony & media roundup)

  On September 29, 2022, I was informed that I had been awarded Seoul Honorary Citizenship. December 9th, I was one of the 18 non-Koreans to receive Seoul Honorary Citizenship.  I was delighted to have several colleagues and supporters join me at the ceremony. They all have had a special role in my activities here. Here's the media roundup so far: The Korea Times (English) https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_341484.html Yonhap (English) https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221211001200320 (Korean) https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20221210022100004 (French) https://fr.yna.co.kr/view/AFR20221211001000884 (Spanish) https://sp.yna.co.kr/view/ASP20221211000900883 K-Odyssey https://m.k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=179556481389320 Newsis https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20221209_0002118460 Chosun https://www.chosun.com/national/national_general/2022/12/11/S2OA76535FCBHFIQI7R5P7HYYM/ Daum News https://v.daum.net/v/20221211111512898 MSN https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/n...

"Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?" --Lord Byron

Frederick Douglass loved that quote. Booker T. Washington would say it sometimes, too. I recently met two women from North Korea. That's right, that North Korea. I asked them many questions but held back somewhat. I suppose they still must be careful and I don't want them to think I'm a spy. Hey, I used to be a host on black talk radio, I was accused of many things then. Plus, if North Koreans are trying to track those folks down I suppose the last thing they'd want would be to have their photos posted on a blog. At some point I will write about meeting those ladies. * * * Yesterday I got interviewed by a Korean reporter about various political and social issues. After I confirm that my interview made it past the station's producers then I'll post the info here. CJL

Race, race, race

On the issue of race: Clinton goes first, (surprisingly) without her Selma accent. Biden doesn’t mention that there is a clean and article black person on the stage. Richardson says the next president must talk about race…we need less talk about race, and more about individual action. Edwards said something, apparently to help us transition to the only somewhat black candidate on the panel. Obama has the home field advantage being at Howard, but doesn’t do much with the initial question. Kucinich says that people are told to raise themselves up by their own bootstraps, but then they steal the boots. He gets the loudest cheers. This will be a long night if that continues... Gravel —who? Dodd —like the 64th team in the NCAA basketball pool, Dodd should be one and done. Brb, I’m checking on the NBA draft… CJL

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...