I used to love MASH. Hawkeye was, in certain regards, a person who I looked up to: He dealt with insanity and death with a wisecrack and genuine concern. For a large part of my life I have tried to emulate Hawkeye's method of staying sane, when things were painful (though my life has been very sheltered and blessed in the past decade) by dealing with situations with humor.

But recently, I had a dangerous thought which made MASH a whole lot less enjoyable.

As portrayed in MASH, everyone is against the war. Everyone except Frank Burns and Hotlips, who are insipid buffoons for most the series. Hawkeye is especially pacifistic: he sees no point in having the war, and expects that if our generals were at all moral, they would call off the war and just go home.

The thought I had, which jarred me to reality was: What if Hawkeye had gotten his way?

Everything we know about North Korea tells us that, for it's inhabitants, the state is one huge prison camp. Satellite photos tell us millions are starving. And hundreds of thousands are in Gulags. And those who escape report an absolutely horrific situation for all but the very, very top leaders. This is another one of those places actively vying for the "hell on earth" award.

Constrast with South Korea, which has a vibrant economy, an active democracy, and an thriving, diverse religious life.

Hawkeye didn't think South Korea was worth it: If he had his way, there would be no South Korea: All would have been under Kim John Il, who would be even more powerful, even more of a threat to the region.

Worse, Hawkeye is not an authentic 1950's worldview: He was (largely) written in the 70's, when the outcome of the Korean War was already known. We could forgive his lack of foresight; but to espouse such views, given what we know in hindsight, seems unconscionable. Can we really argue, with such moral rectitude, for a world without South Korea?

So now, each time I hear Hawk argue against our involvement in the war, I hear him argue against a free South Korea, and aruging all of her citizens should have been put under Kim Jong Il.

Makes one sick to even think of it, really. Not funny at all.