07/09/2026
🖊️ July’s Message from KADC President Esther “Bester” Lim:
“As President of the Korean American Democratic Committee, I want to speak plainly to our members, our community, and to the Democratic Party we belong to: democracy is under attack, at every level, and too many of the people we elected to defend it have gone quiet or those who are loud, brave, and courageous are met with unprecedented attacks and hostility funded by corporate monies and genocide enablers.
What we need is bravery. What we need is courage from our leaders.
We are watching democratic values erode in real time. This isn’t something that happened overnight, rather it happened over time.
Nationally, we see the weaponization of federal power against political opponents, journalists, and protesters; attacks on the independence of courts and election administration; and a sustained effort to place loyalty to tyrannical individuals above loyalty to the Constitution and the people.
Locally, we see money and access substitute for accountability, with elected officials more responsive to major donors and entrenched interests than to the residents who put them in office.
What happened at the LA City Council over amending the charter was a disastrous example of weak leadership, an utter refusal to listen to constituents, and proof that the voice (and dollars) of a few (police unions) will always trump the many who’ve been detrimentally impacted by LAPD abuse, violence, and harm.
And internationally, we cannot separate our commitment to democracy at home from our responsibility to speak honestly about the human rights abuses abroad, including in Gaza, where the scale of civilian murder and forced displacement has led international courts, human rights organizations, and a growing number of governments to describe Israel’s conduct for what it is — a genocide. It is a genocide.
Our community includes people descended from those who survived war, colonization, and dictatorship. We know that silence in the face of atrocity is its own kind of complicity, and we will not stay silent…”
Rest in comments.
Korean translation in comments.
