Approaching Independence Day

This evening I watched the tail end of Christiane Amanpour's CNN Special, Notes From North Korea, which chronicles the New York Philharmonic's historic performance in North Korea a few months ago.

Amanpour interviewed a woman by the name of Ji Hae Nam.  In 1993, she was thrown in jail, where she was interrogated, tortured and starved over the course of the next three years.

The charge against her?  Singing a South Korean pop song at a Christmas party with friends.

The communist regime in North Korea is so strict that singing or performing any music that doesn't promote communist ideals or praise Kim Jong Il is forbidden.  The slightest criticism against the communist government lands citizens in jail or worse.

Google Ji Hae Nam.  You'll find her 2003 testimony in front of congress.  It's heartbreaking.

I am thankful I live in a country where I can sing Gershwin in my kitchen.  I can't believe places exist in the world where musicians are forbidden to express themselves.

For every man that lives without freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt.

- Lillian Hellman