This phrase, 'hereditary enemies,' caught my eye and ear and stayed with me for a few days. It came from the French President Hollande's speech at the 100th anniversary of the start of the WW1 on 8/3/14 at Hartmannswillerkpf, France. "To those who are desperately regarding the peace process in the Middle East, what better message can we deliver than today's message. The history of France and Germany shows that will can always win over fatality and that people who were seen as hereditary enemies can, within a few year, reconcile."
François Nicolas Hollande
It seems the world is full of 'hereditary enemies' with each zone burdened by its own nuances and caveats. After 150 years, some parts of the Southern US, now a tiny minority, hasn't forgotten the defeat. Eastern Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Pacific Rim countries, and etc., etc., and etc.
Religious war? France and Germany killed each other like mad about 400 years ago. Territorial war? Absolutely. Political hegemony? Of course. Money involved? You bet. Why the German and French reconciliation? For now, yes. It is because they had suffered too much. Now, at least, they still remember how stupid it is to kill each other at the industrial scale. They deserve a credit for having learned a lesson from the most murderous century so far in the history. There is the recognition of the utter insanity of WWl and WWll, and admission of their guilt. That's why reconciliation is possible.
The utter stupidity and smallness of mind is exhibited by Japan. Japanese intellectuals have the duty to educate their people to find peace with themselves and the countries they brought great havoc to. China and Korea should wake up from their old habits, also. Enlightened reconciliation is the only way; there are no other options. Or we have the option of industrial scale murders; this time, it is nuclear scale.
The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman interviewed President Barack Obama on Friday, 8/8/14 at the Whitehouse. It was a wonderful interview. I quote what President Obama said. "No victor, no vanquished and work together."
