Idealism vs. realism: Reflection on diplomacy

The struggle between idealism and realism is highlighted in decision-making. Decision-makers are often entangled in the clash between the two schools of thought and approaches. When I decided to skip my Filipino subject, I wanted to take other courses that were worthwhile, in my mind, than Filipino subject. At that time, I saw no point in studying a language I had already learned. My ideal of studies then was to continue discovering, learning and enriching one’s knowledge and not restudying and relearning what one had already learned and known. I was idealistic about the direction and goals of my academic life. However, the reality of having structures and procedures made me grounded on the rigors and practices of formal and standardized education I was taking at that time. 

Diplomats are no exception to experience this kind of struggle. It is even much more difficult, I suppose, when important decisions and complex situations in international relations and foreign policies are at hand.  

Child rights' activism: Prospects on advocacy

Child labor is a long standing social issue and ill in society. A child is supposed to be protected, cared for, schooled and loved. However, child labor denies a child of love, schooling, care, and protection. The issue appeals to the natural empathy to children whom all of us could relate to as we were once a child. It elicits repugnance, outrage and conviction that child labor is wrong. It is through these strong feelings against child labor that I am going to talk about it. These strong feelings and conviction will pave the way for any activism. Especially, I will present child labor as violation of human rights of a child to education. The activism is not just to eliminate child labor. It is also about providing education, vocational training, and support to former child laborers.

All over the world, there are about 218 million children engaged in child labor. They could be found across the globe, from industrialized to non-industrialized countries. Majority of these children work in agriculture. Many are believed to be working in hazardous conditions. Some are in prostitution and pornography, in armed conflict as child soldiers, and in a form of slavery and worst forms of child labor. In short, they are out of school and working elsewhere instead of being in school.

The World Needs a Responsive and Better United Nations (UN)

Has the UN lived up to the mandates of its Charter since its birth in 1945?

Among the mandates of the UN are to prevent wars, ensure fundamental human rights, respect treaties and international law, promote social progress and improve the quality of life, establish international cooperation and dispute settlements, maintain international peace and security, refrain from using armed force except in the common interest, and promote the economic and social advancement of all. These may seem lofty ideals, but they are legitimate mandates of the UN.

After 65 years in existence, the UN has been through failures and successes on the exercise and performance of its mandates set in the Charter. One of the most remembered failures of the UN which drew a great deal of criticisms happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo or at that time simply "Congo" in early 1960s. From all sides of the conflict in Congo, the UN was the recipient of harsh and valid criticisms. Another event that elicited criticisms worldwide was the inability of the UN to halt the invasion of Iraq, a sovereign member-state, by the allied-forces led by the US.

Apocalypse Now: Parallelisms Revealed in the Film

I have special fascination with the film, Apocalypse Now. One thing is that it is shot in the Philippines. Another thing is that the title, Apocalypse Now, captures the end of what is as described in the Revelation. The title itself is able to situate the dreaded future in the history of war/conflict in the mind of person. In their book The Hollywood War Machine, Boggs and Pollard (2007, p.134) has a better term for it, "crisis of conscience."

The film was made in the Philippines during the dictatorial and martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s. I read that many international and popular events were held during these turbulent times in the Philippine history. Some of which were Miss Universe in 1974, the greatest boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier dubbed as Thrilla in Manila in 1975, world chess title match between Karpov and Korchnoi in 1978, Pope John Paul II visit in 1981, the filming of this movie, and other big events. While these international events were happening in the country, domestic events such as the growing rebellion by the communist movement, numerous human rights abuses, and massive corruption were being obliterated in the international and local media. I think that was the main objective of these international and big events - to project the Philippines as a land of beautiful things and wonderful events to the world. To the millions of Filipinos, hellish conditions surrounded them with grinding poverty, military violence and abuses, thousands of killings and disappearances, controlled media, and no fair and credible election since 1965. It was an apocalyptic period under Marcos in the Philippines.

In Revelation 13: 13-14, "And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth." The "great and miraculous signs" can be the visitation of well-known people and stars including the Pope and people are deceived or blinded by these ephemeral fanfare. Marcos epitomized the beast coming out of the earth.

In his analysis of Apocalypse Now in his Strategy Pedagogy and Pedagogic Strategy, Gow (2006, p.403) states that madness in many ways "is the perfectly rational and logical extension of the decision to apply violent means to political purposes." Marcos used this madness. The United States applied this madness when it went to war with Vietnam probably without knowing what it was getting into. Col. Kurtz had this madness. Capt. Willard exhibited this madness when he shot the dying Vietnamese girl. The film portrayed these as the nature of war.

Psychologist Sigmund Freud argued that human instincts cause the war-thinking of man. He presented two human instincts; those that care and those that destroy. The latter obviously is responsible to spark the war thinking of man. In the film, a French woman talked about man's capability to love and kill. It presented the dichotomy of human capability.

Apocalypse Now is a film shot in the Philippines which also reflects the historical and apocalyptic moment of that country when the film is being made. Is it coincidental? I think Francis Ford Coppola is a genius.

Innocent Voices of conflicts: Childrens' muted cry

The film, Innocent Voices, presents a story of Chava, an 11-year old boy, in a small village in El Salvador during the outbreak of civil war in the 1980s. The film is a departure from the previous films the class has watched in which they depict the characters are deeply involved in the conflict as soldiers, rebels, and suicide bombers. In Innocent Voices, it depicts the story of victims; those who are trapped in the midst of a conflict. It takes the perspective of a child who is on the verge of being recruited in the El Salvadoran army, who becomes "a man in the house" when his father has left them, and who falls in love with a classmate.

In his Strategy Pedagogy and Pedagogic Strategy, Gow (2006) defines war as "contest underpinned by violence between politically motivated groups using it as a peculiar decision making tool" (p. 394). The civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s pitted the US-backed and financed El Salvadoran army versus the Frente Farabundo Marti para La Liberacion Nacional (FMLN). The film through its presentation of the journey of an 11-year old boy caught up in the web of civil war is able to deepen the understanding of the social and historical contexts of the war itself (ibid, 2006).

In the same article, Gow (2006) points out that "there is a long tradition, dating back to Aristotle, which holds that narrative (and symbolic) representation, including acts of violence, can be cathartic and even therapeutic" (p. 396). The question and answer part of the class with the writer (Torres) on which the story of the film is based is the highlight of the film class. Torres considered the filming of his story as a healing process of the wounds and bitter memories brought about by the civil war in his life. He repeatedly recognized the tool of the film as such for himself and for the others who experienced and witnessed similar images and realities of war.

Many realities of war are depicted in the film. One of which is the recruitment of child soldiers. I think this is the advocacy of the film. Child soldiering is prevalent in other war-torn countries such as Sierra Leone, Angola, Sudan, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Burma. In the film, it estimates the number of child soldiers around the world to be at about 400,000. This is the part I like about the film. It carries an advocacy, an added meaning to the story. It touches those who watch it to think about the children who are robbed of their innocence and childhood. It is hoped that the thinking leads to action against the recruitment of child soldiers in the conflict.