ON THE DIVIDED KOREA

Korea is in the stage of starting a war among themselves. A country that has two kinds of cultures, one communist and the other democratic albeit traditional in some aspects. I wonder why until now it has not united? Germany used to be divided into east and west. Now it is just one country. Vietnam also used to be North and South Vietnam but now has one name.

The United Nations should not allow the entry of countries with the same names, I think. It becomes very confusing to the kids why they have to be divided. Imagine, they have the same roots, race and history, but only due to some kind of freakish wars were they divided.

The new millenium should usher in a new definition of nationhood. No longer should we allow competitive politics to rule the world, but rather one which allows all living beings to exist and co-exist without the other always on toes on whether his or her neighbor will be pouncing on them.

I think children have a nicer view of human relations. They forget easily why they had fought a playmate and just get on with the next game that they can play. Adults tend to harbor ill feelings, unearthing millennial old, or shall we say, in the case of Korea, decades only angst and stresses in order to maintain a status quo that puts the whole world in a state of suspense and fear.

I know this sounds like a kindergarten view of world politics, but then isn't child's perspective healthier when it comes to talking about the growth of a country? Who wants wars to happen where only blood and gore will prevail and probably pour on the land? I think that we should declare war as obsolete and find ways and means to make all those who conduct them think a hundred times whether they are worth it or not.

To deal with recalcitrants like the Abu Sayyaf and the Al Quaida, I think that their relatives should be rounded up and let's see if they would ever get near them. I think that is a valid tactic because not just the area where they operate but all over the world, the people can no longer enjoy the simple things in life.

Going back to Korea, I think that we should gather all the intellectuals -- the teachers, writers, students --  of Korea, from North and South and ask them what moves can be made to soften the stance of their leaders. We should communicate with them as ordinary folks and urge them to take the path of dialogue into solving the problems that disunite them.

I hope that we could do this as soon as possible to pre-empt  any untoward move from whichever party.

SO BE IT.