Why there is more hope for North Korea than for the USA

North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong-il is not yet in the ground but already all of the reputable news outlets in the West are chock full of the predictable condemnations of his criminal decadence and his regime's Stalinist indifference to the well-being of his people.

Kim Jong-il was the kind of leader who endlessly pumped scarce resources into his country's military-industrial complex while ignoring the plight of the average citizen. He enjoyed the support of a small coterie of rabid fans who benefited from that policy while the masses struggled to find a roof over their heads and enough to eat.

Any of that sound familiar? Can you think of another country that pumps massive amounts of resources into its military-industrial complex while the masses struggle with the basics? Don't have to look too far, do you?

Our propaganda machine is second to none. Thanks to that, most people believe we're still about freedom and virtue. The city on a hill and all that stuff.

Does the President survive at the pleasure of a small coterie of financial backers who benefit from the policies of perpetual war and a free hand for the biggest financial institutions?

Hundreds upon hundreds of billions are lavished upon unnecessary wars, blue-sky defense-industry fantasy projects like the F-35, and bailing out the biggest and most corrupt banks because they are too big to fail. There are Americans who benefit from these policies. They make up that coterie of cheer-leaders.

Meanwhile, there has never been a time when more Americans have had to cope with homelessness, unemployment, and inadequate health care.

Obviously these are two countries on the same track. Sure, the North Koreans may be a little further along, but we've been gaining on them fast these last twenty or thirty years. Our propaganda machine ensures that we'll pass them soon even as 100,000 fans stand and celebrate freedom and democracy and the heroism of our troops at the start of the next Nascar race.

They've got an opening though. With the death of their Dear Leader, maybe they've got an opportunity to take a new direction.

We on the other hand are stuck, forever condemned to choosing another Dear Leader every four years and staying on the same track.