Love or Fear?

The last question on our packet asks if we believe the people of N. Korea have this unrestraining infatuation with Kim Jung Il out of fear or because they really adore him this much. I have trouble answering that question and am curious to what others think.

I believe that partly, especially years ago, their love was shown and felt because of their fear to what Kim Jung Il's regime would do if they didn't idolize him. They feared for their lives if they showed any doubt or disrespect to their dear leader. This brainwashing technique has surely worked, because now, it is almost impossible to see that fear in people's faces. The only emotion they express is their deep love for their leader. Their cult-like behavior is so grand and so widespread, that if I was a N. Korean who knew about the outside world and what was really going on, I wouldn't stand up for my beliefs. I would conform and pretend to adore Kim Jung Il because he is too powerful and too substantial to rebel against.

It's a sad thought either way. These citizens are so brain-washed, so deprived of normalcy that their fear and love have spawned together to create one emotion, an emotion that brings tears to a blind woman's eyes.