“Won’t let anyone take even an inch of our land.”
Wrong, if you think you are hearing a snippet from a neighbourhood property dispute. This is a statement by a spokesperson of a superpower nation at his regular press briefings. An avid follower of international affairs, I am often perplexed by the parallels between international relations and petty dealings between ordinary private citizens. While the former is supposed to be guided by astute statesmen and nurtured by highly trained diplomats, for us commoners, our personality traits and whims shape our social interactions. Surely, reason enough to be taken aback to observe how closely the collective wisdom of a nation apes the inept handling of relations by ordinary mortals.
Nations at war behave like motorists caught in road rage. Hardly ever someone behind the wheel accepts he or she is at fault. The mistake always lies with the other guys. Almost all drivers, like rulers and despots, believe their (driving) skills are always the best. And again if you want to avoid road rage, and of course to prevent a war too, breathe easy, slow it down, think about the common humanity, avoid blame and be forgiving, and finally consider others may not be that malicious.
My interest in international affairs did not bring me a carrier in the field. But I must confess it did help me to learn wily life skills to manoeuvre my relations through thick and thin. It taught me there is no real choice between idealism and realism. Values, virtues, and principles largely remain goalposts. Sadly, wealth and power give the right, alike among the comity of nations and within the local community. Though painful, the idealist often loses the game and the realist outsmarts others. To build and manage good relations with our neighbours is an art, a difficult art especially when the boundary is vague and when there is no good fence between our properties.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It’s tough to say if the ancient proverb is more appropriate to social interactions or in the context of today’s geopolitics. Diplomatic expressions such as “power projection” can easily be substituted by terms such as showing off and flaunting when it comes to people around us. The phrase “standing up to a bully” does not differentiate if it happens with a bully nation or a bully husband.
I do not know I am following clever nations of the world when I avoid picking sides when my friends fight, unsure of myself how to handle the situation. Of course, it is easy to decide on which side I should stand when one of them is not in good terms with me. The fault always lies with one who I don’t like.
harichitrakootam@yahoo.com
