The Anchoress

UPDATE:::Scroll below for original post:::

Thanks to Sally for clueing me into this remarkable forum thread at Flyertalk (a site for frequent flyers) in which Dovster, an Israeli, and BeyFlyer, a gent in Lebanon, basically cover what is going on around them, and wish each other well. Don’t miss it.

END UPDATE

I read this blurb outta Chesterton’s All Things Considered and thought it was an interesting sentiment, in light of current events:

I AM quite certain that Scotland is a nation; I am quite certain that nationality is the key of Scotland; I am quite certain that all our success with Scotland has been due to the fact that we have in spirit treated it as a nation. I am quite certain that Ireland is a nation. I am quite certain that nationality is the key of Ireland I am quite certain that all our failure in Ireland arose from the fact that we would not in spirit treat it as a nation. It would be difficult to find, even among the innumerable examples that exist, a stronger example of the immensely superior importance of sentiment, to what is called practicality, than this case of the two sister nations. It is not that we have encouraged a Scotsman to be rich; it is not that we have encouraged a Scotsman to be active; it is not that we have encouraged a Scotsman to be free. It is that we have quite definitely encouraged a Scotsman to be Scots.

I think part of the problem with Iraq is that some in the world want to treat it like a sovereign nation - which it is - with its particular culture, its people, its Iraq-ness, and some would rather not. They would prefer to look at Iraq as England looked upon Ireland, as a nation of savages unable to master self-governance and not worth any such effort, valued for nothing nothing beyond an exploitative status quo.

America looks at Iraq and sees a nation and treats her thusly. America looks at Israel and sees a nation, and treats her thusly. The rest of the world…is not so sure, does not respect these nations or governments. They do not treat them, as Chesterton said, “in spirit, as nation(s).”

America had hoped to be able to look upon the Palestinians as a nation - but Yassar Arafat, handed almost everything he said they wanted, ran away; he made Maddy Albright trot after him.

America tried again; she helped convince Israel to cede land in order to encourage the Palestinians to build that nation they kept saying they wanted. The moment Israel made the concession, the Palestinians seemed to get distracted; they decided firing missiles at Israel was more fun and more productive than building a state for their people.

And yet…so many in the world treat the Palestinians as a settled, up-and-running nation.

And then Hezbollah got busy. And funnily enough, for a terror organization, it too seems to get treated almost like an independent and sovereign nation by some. Thankfully, not by America.

Still…it’s troubling.

As Daffy Duck would say…there’s somethin’ amiss, here.

As Ace points out, Diplomacy doesn’t work if the people starting the trouble keep saying “no”.

Neo-Neocon puts her finger on the play and the props.