The Philippine nation can do what it wants to do with its own troops. Still, they told the coalition they'd do something, and they're not doing it. They are doing what terrorists have demanded of them. What I have difficulty wrapping my mind around is their acquiescing to demands over, and I know this might sound callous, one hostage. I really don't know what's going on in the Philippines right now, but there's gotta be a whole lot of discontent. Surely a government accustomed to hostage crises on it's own soil with it's own islamist rebels could stomach the death of one man. This must be the excuse for something they had already decided they wanted to do. Or maybe Abu Sayyaf has their ear and is pinching it. The Philippine government will lose any strength it has in dealing with Muslim terrorists, and being in that corner of the globe, they need to be able to speak from a position of strength.
Strange...like the South Koreans who have thousands of hostile soldiers massed on their borders to the north, but hold protests against "national division" and vigils over Kim Sun-Il (or should I say, "candle-lit protests posing as mourning"?). Can a nation lose face continually and still succesfully provide for its people?
The Philippine attitude brings to mind the difference between these two Spanish terms: honor and honra: honor “refers to humility and forgiveness and expanded, private, internal goodness, whereas honra signifies pride and vengeance, public ‘satisfaction’ or retribution.” You can debate the honor of their decision, but not the honra. They are definitely sin honra, and they'll pay a price down the road.
Strange...like the South Koreans who have thousands of hostile soldiers massed on their borders to the north, but hold protests against "national division" and vigils over Kim Sun-Il (or should I say, "candle-lit protests posing as mourning"?). Can a nation lose face continually and still succesfully provide for its people?
The Philippine attitude brings to mind the difference between these two Spanish terms: honor and honra: honor “refers to humility and forgiveness and expanded, private, internal goodness, whereas honra signifies pride and vengeance, public ‘satisfaction’ or retribution.” You can debate the honor of their decision, but not the honra. They are definitely sin honra, and they'll pay a price down the road.
Comments
Post a Comment