I hate when I worry about things that I have little control over, but I have to say that North Korea worries me. The news is full of stories about the plight of the people within its borders and talks of nuclear threats. While a part of me worries about the people (adults and children), the greater part of me worries about my son.

My worry really started with 9-11. I know it seems like I’ve gone off target, but I’ll wrap it all back together. After 9-11, I watched the people around me and I was saddened. Friends and family, that until that moment I had always viewed as being reasonable and logical, turned on a whole group of people because of the actions of a few. I heard phrases like “those people” and “it’s such a violent religion.” They made comments about Arabic people looking like terrorists and said we should go in and bomb them all.

Things have settled down a little now, but it’s still there – the underlying fear that so easily turned to hate. Though things are said with a lot less heat now, the message is still there – the message they are passing down to future generations.

I wonder why history hasn’t taught us the lesson that we cannot blame everyone for the actions of a few. Will we remember that letting fear dictate our actions has never led to a constructive end? Human nature seems to allow emotion to override what we have learned – it lets fear guide our actions. It was fear that drove Americans to put Japanese-Americans into camps during World War II. I wonder how far we will let fear take us today.

Watching the way people have reacted in the wake of 9-11 brings me back to my original topic. I probably understated my concern in the first paragraph. Sometimes, North Korea worries me. At other times, North Korea terrifies me. I don’t fear the people, but I worry about a day when a few men and women in North Korea might do something that creates a backlash across all Asian communities. I worry that my son will come face to face with a hate so strong that I won’t be able to protect him.

When I worry too much, I take comfort in knowing I’m not alone. I have my husband, my parents, my sister... I also remember all of my friends and family who did not jump on the bandwagon of hate after 9-11. I remember that I don’t have to be strong enough to protect my son because WE will do it together.