Why ‘Liberator’?
One of our inspirations for the new site name is William Lloyd Garrison, an uncompromising abolitionist and editor of “The Liberator,” published from 1831 to 1865. Garrison published his final issue after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, eight months after the conclusion of the Civil War.
Garrison was certainly not a man without flaws and rhetorical excesses (nor are we). He had a habit of publicly burning copies of the Constitution for its textual accomodations with slavery. In his early life, he was thought to be reckless with the facts on occasion. In other ways, however, Garrison was far ahead of his time. He was an early believer in racial equality and rejected the idea that slavery could end through gradual compromise. Garrison was also one of the first vocal opponents of discrimination against Asians in America, and was a vocal opponent of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Garrison’s ideas were radical for his times; thus did he change the times in which he lived. He never saw any profit from his publication of The Liberator, but without question, he changed many minds and helped make abolitionism the majority view in the United States.
We take inspiration from Garrison’s determination, principle, and patience, and from a moral compass that allowed him to see that slavery was evil–and to say so forthrightly–when so many preferred to justify it, accomodate it, or not to discuss it at all. In this regard, we see parallels to South Korea today. We hope our views are more moderate than Garrison’s in the sense that we hope a war between the Koreans can be prevented. We believe, however, that empowering a regime with no regard for human lives or liberties endangers–rather than advances–peace. Those who choose not to discuss the slavery of the North Korean people need a jolt of uncomfortable reality. We intend to contribute our small part of that.
Good luck with your new site guys. With your combined expertise, writing styles and opinions this worthy new blog should be even better than the old ones.
Thanks, Brendan. Fitting that the first comment would be yours.
Nice launch. Looking forward to the combined efforts.
Welcome and thank you for the kind words.
Fantastic idea, guys! I added the link immediately after receiving your email.
Looking forward to reading this collaboration!
Alright. This is pretty cool. Let’s take her for a spin and see what she can do.
Great site, guys.
Scott:
Thank you for the kind words. But this is not my posse. I think Joshua and I are Richardson’s Posse.
Note that he’s the quiet guy with no information next to his name on the right side panel.
It’s always the quiet, silent “man with no name” who is the real brains behind the operation. You watch out for him!
Garrison was a maniac. North Korea’s government is evil and worthy of death; South Korea’s government is a leftist nightmare. However, the US can do no better than get out of Asia so Asians can solve their own problems. Not one penny from US taxpayers should be wasted to provide defence or security.
Hello, thank you for your nice website. I am happy to write to you and tell you that after reading your blog for several days, taking in your well-backgrounded analysis and superbly unbiased critic of North Korea, I have decided to leave North Korea. Please keep posting your fascinating work, it really helps people.
good for you. ignore the critics. freedom of information is what is needed!
EX-CEL-LENT. And needed. Thank you, guys!
I’ll be checking back to read your posts periodically.