Thank God for Freedom!

I started reading Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. It is so good; so, so good. Just about every minute of every day, I do something that is forbidden for a North Korean to do. Like writing on my blog-a North Korean can't do that. The internet is not allowed in North Korea, commonly known as the hermit kingdom, officially known as The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. If I lived in the DPRK, I would not be allowed to keep Rufus, who just mosied into my office. I wouldn't be able to speak freely to Mr. M. The word pictures are stark. No one laughs there. No one has friends. Marriage is more of a business partnership than anything else, and having a baby girl is looked down on. Cars are illegal for most people. You live with whatever shame your parents might have brought upon themselves, so that if your parents have anything shameful in their past, your chances for a bright future are non-existent. Simply being able to have pictures of my family on the wall is a privilege North Koreans are denied. There are laws and policies here in America that I don't really like, but I am ever so grateful for the freedoms (unimaginable for some) that we have.