‘How the nations, various tribes, races and religious sects have remained so brutally hostile to each other is probably one of the greatest mysteries in history.’
PRESIDENT Duterte should be advised to change his tack to include the COVID crisis as a priority program if he is elected vice president. In his recent late-night talk, he mentioned that insurgency, criminality and drugs would still be his advocacies, leaving out the crucial implementation of massive efforts to contain the pandemic and the proper and vigorous treatment of the infected. The Vice President does not exercise any executive power but can be appointed by the President to a department or agency of government.
The chaotic COVID government response and management have, of course, changed the social and political climate with millions distressed and neglected. The 2022 national and local elections will be a time of intense political reckoning to overturn institutional fraud and its machinery through the deep angst of countless others who lost their jobs, their businesses and, above all, the lives of their loved ones and close friends.
Duterte President should know better to recover the essential presidential empathy he has ignored but can still genuinely apply, more than advance a political advantage that he thinks will matter during this time.
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US President Jose Biden should have learned from his predecessor, Barrack Obama, who ordered the recall of US forces from Afghanistan but promptly put them back after the threat of the Islamic State of Syria (ISIS) became imminent. Most Western leaders were aghast over Biden’s sudden withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan, and there seemed to be no logical explanation.
The news media points to Washington’s long exasperation with the corruption and incompetence of the Afghan government to move forward economically and politically, despite the billions of dollars of support poured in by the US government. Biden should have taken intelligence more seriously — that the Taliban has been significantly reinforced by private citizens and government officials heavily dissatisfied with their government and the US, and that the augmented forces had been organized and ready for mobilization.
The Middle East and Africa have remained cauldrons of bloody conflict and mayhem through the centuries. How the nations, various tribes, races and religious sects have remained so brutally hostile to each other is probably one of the greatest mysteries in history. Still, missionaries and evangelists have fearlessly ventured into these deadly terrains of hate and bigotry.
Bible scholars are almost certain that the rejection of Christianity has been a critical factor in the endless suffering of the peoples. In stark contrast, Western nations which have embraced Protestantism or Christianity have remained peaceful and calm while enjoying abundant progress and prosperity.
