T’was ever thus! (Sic Semper tyrannis)

It was the late comedian, Jackie “Moms” Mabley, one of the funniest people I ever knew of, (google Moms Mabley and see if I’m not right!) who came up with one of the greatest lines of all times. It came from a routine about an old man (91 years old and U-U-U-U-G-L-Y!) she said her father picked out for her to marry. (My father liked him. He should have married him.). Moms said she thought he’d never die. (Rat poison agreed with him.) At one point she said, “I shouldn’t talk about him like that. They say you mustn’t say anything about the dead unless it’s something good. He’s dead? ‘GOOD!’”

What brought that line to mind was the announcement of the untimely passing of one Kim Jung Il. Now I say it was untimely, because a more timely death would have been a miscarriage. Seriously, can’t nobody be sad about this old boy cashing in his chips, not even his heir apparent. Yes, this is a “communist” nation that seems to operate like a monarchy. The right to rule seems to be a heretical thing.

Kim Jong Il, the “beloved leader” got his “crown” from the “eternal leader”, Kim Sung Il. Two notes about Kim Sung Il: One, before his death, his name was spelled Kim Song Il; and two, he apparently took a cue from the Emperors of Rome, in that he seems to have been deified, judging by that last nickname.

History buffs will recall that the worse an emperor was, the sooner he would declare he was a god. That way, even after he died, he could still make everyone miserable.

I’m sure that both the Kim’s had the same idea. They forgot the joke about the man who refused to buy any life insurance, though. When his exasperated agent finally asked him to for one good reason NOT to buy life insurance, he said “When I die, I want it to be a sad day for EVERYONE!” That one exception would seem to be the Kim-to- be, this one named the “Great Successor”, Kim Jung Un (as in un moment, Monsieur).

There is a joke about this business of the leader of a socialist state passing along the rule in the country to a member of his family. Many years ago, after the Soviet Union was formed, there was a disagreement as to how the newly formed government should go about spreading the good news. One school of thought was it should be exported post haste to other countries, while the competing school of thought was to perfect it (if that is a viable thought) here first. This was known as “Socialism in one country.”

When the Kim’s were told of this, they came up with their own peculiar line of reasoning for passing along the leadership in North Korea to the next of kin to the Dearly Departed. This was known as “Socialism in one family”.

Oddly, the “beloved leader” and the “great successor” have one thing more in common with royalty: It was Marie Antoinette who was said to have responded to a demand by the poor for bread with “Let them eat cake!”

The sheltered and privileged existence these two members of the Upper Crust have had is as much of an insult to their people.