The 'Slash and Burn' Series Part 111: 'Why Do People Forget Their Sense of Human Relationships When It Comes to International Issues?' — Replacing International Society with Junior High School —
♦️Introduction
Recently, I often hear the words 'friendship' and 'improving relations'.
It's in the news, on social media, and in politicians' press conferences.
Of course, that in itself is not a bad thing.
If countries can avoid fighting and get along peacefully, there is nothing better than that.
But Milim has always wondered about something.
Why do people suddenly forget their sense of human relationships when it comes to international issues?
What is friendship?
What is cooperation?
And is it really necessary to get along?
While thinking about such things, I suddenly remembered school.
There are many classes in school.
There are people you get along with, and people you don't.
Even so, school runs properly every day.
Today, I would like to take a moment to think about international society by replacing it with a school.
♦️Character Introduction
▪️Milim
An observer belonging to Regalia.
She is good at finding things in daily life and society that make her think, 'Isn't this a bit strange?'
She has a habit of replacing difficult topics with familiar examples to think about them.
▪️Leo
A new observer at Regalia.
Honest and serious.
He plays the role of bringing questions like 'What does this mean?' after watching the news, and listening to the story from the same perspective as the reader.
▪️Gaston
A veteran observer at Regalia.
He has a bold and friendly personality.
While saying, 'I don't understand difficult topics!', he speaks for the questions and discomfort that ordinary people feel.
▪️Alberto
A strategist at Regalia.
A calm and collected analyst.
He takes on the role of organizing and explaining things based on mechanisms and structures, rather than emotional arguments.
♦️Chapter 1: What is Friendship?
Leo
: "Milim, I've been hearing words like 'friendship' and 'improving relations' in the news a lot lately. Are those things really that important?"
Milim
: "Hmm, I don't think they're bad things, of course. But Milim has always found it a bit strange whenever I hear those words."
Gaston
: "Hahaha!! You've gotten hung up on something weird again! Friendship just means being on good terms, right?"
Alberto
: "That 'being on good terms' part might be the point here."
Leo
: "Is it not?"
Milim
: "Leo, were you on good terms with everyone in the class next door at school?"
Leo
: "No, that's not the case. There were people I'd never even spoken to."
Gaston
: "Same here. Even in the same grade, there were tons of people whose names I didn't even know."
Alberto
: "However, that didn't cause any problems in school life."
Leo
: "That's certainly true."
Milim
: "Exactly. School works fine even if everyone isn't best friends."
Gaston
: "Well, it would be a problem if you were fighting all the time, though."
Alberto
: "That is what the teacher is looking for as well. It's not about everyone becoming best friends, but about not fighting, not belittling each other, and cooperating when necessary."
Leo
: "Now that you mention it, that's true."
Milim
: "So, Milim thought that international society might be just like a school."
Gaston
: "A school?"
Milim
: "For example, let's say there's a White Team. In Class 3-1, there's Senior America; in Class 2-1, there's Japan; in Class 2-2, there's South Korea; in Class 1-1, there's the Philippines; and in Class 1-2, there's Australia."
Leo
: "They're all on the same White Team."
Alberto
: "Yes. But even on the same White Team, they are not all in the same class."
Gaston
: "That goes without saying."
Milim
: "When it comes to the sports festival, I think Senior America would say, 'You guys are on the White Team, so cooperate.'"
Leo
: "He would probably say that."
Gaston
: "Since they're on the White Team, they should cooperate."
Milim
: "Yeah, Milim thinks so too. But that doesn't mean they have to become best friends, right?"
Leo
: "Ah..."
Alberto
: "Because cooperation and friendship are two different things."
Milim
: "Exactly. And yet, when it comes to international issues, those two things strangely get lumped together."
Gaston
: "What do you mean?"
Milim
: "I understand the 'cooperate' part. But before you know it, it becomes 'get along better,' and then it can even lead to talk about 'liking each other.'"
Leo
: "Indeed, that might be a separate matter."
Alberto
: "What is needed first is cooperation. Trust is something that is built up afterwards; it is not something that exists from the beginning."
Milim
: "Right. That's why Milim wonders every time I hear the word 'friendship.' I wonder if it really means being best friends."
♦️Chapter 2: Friendship and cooperation are not the same
Gaston
"But hey, if we're both on the White Team, shouldn't we get along? It seems like we'd have a better chance of winning the sports festival that way."
Milim
"Of course, if you get along, I think that's a good thing in itself."
Leo
"Then what's the difference?"
Albert
"It's thinking that getting along and cooperating are the same thing."
Gaston
"Aren't they the same?"
Albert
"Take committees, for example. Even if you belong to the same committee, not everyone is best friends. But the work still gets done."
Leo
"That's certainly true."
Milim
"The school festival is the same. You cooperate during the preparations, but once it's over, everyone goes back to their own friends."
Gaston
"Now that you mention it, that's just normal."
Albert
"In fact, that's a healthy sense of distance."
Leo
"A healthy sense of distance?"
Albert
"Yes. Human relationships aren't necessarily better just because they are close. It's precisely because you understand the distance between you and the other person that you can maintain a long-term relationship."
Milim
"That's true even for friends, isn't it?"
Gaston
"Hahaha!! That's for sure! If you were stuck together every single day, you'd get exhausted!"
Leo
"I think I can understand that."
Milim
"I also think being considerate and getting along are different things."
Gaston
"How are they different?"
Milim
"For example, even if there's someone in the next class you don't really get along with, you wouldn't go out of your way to fight with them, right?"
Leo
"No, I wouldn't."
Milim
"And you wouldn't go around spreading bad rumors about them either."
Gaston
"Because that would just cause trouble."
Albert
"And you cooperate when necessary. That is enough."
Leo
"You can do that even if you aren't friends, right?"
Albert
"Exactly."
Milim
"That's why I, Milim, feel a bit uncomfortable whenever the word 'friendship' comes up."
Gaston
"Are you still hung up on that?"
Milim
"Because when people hear 'friendship,' some of them get an image of being best friends, don't they?"
Leo
"That's certainly true."
Milim
"But if you think about it in terms of school, there's no need to be best friends with the class next door."
Albert
"What's important is being able to coexist smoothly."
Gaston
"In other words, don't fight, and cooperate when necessary."
Albert
"That is the foundation of society."
Milim
"Yeah. And I think that's actually what we're supposed to be learning at school."
♦️Chapter 3: Why do we forget our sense of distance when it comes to international issues?
Leo
“But Milim, if you’re disliked by the class next door, shouldn’t you try harder to get along with them?”
Milim
“Hmm, I think that depends on the situation.”
Gaston
“Depends on the situation?”
Alberto
“Let’s say there’s an influential person in Class 2-2 who has been badmouthing Class 2-1 for a long time.”
Leo
“Yeah, there are people like that.”
Gaston
“Hahaha!! There’s one in every school!”
Alberto
“So, here is a question. What should Class 2-1 do in that case?”
Leo
“Try harder to get along... maybe?”
Gaston
“No, you’d normally just wait and see, right?”
Milim
“Milim thinks so too.”
Leo
“Eh?”
Milim
“Because, if the other person has no intention of changing, isn’t it strange for us to be the only ones getting desperate?”
Gaston
“Well, that’s true.”
Alberto
“This is a common story in human relationships. You need to separate the other person’s tasks from your own.”
Leo
“The other person’s tasks?”
Alberto
“Yes. If Class 2-2 dislikes Class 2-1, that is primarily a problem on the side of Class 2-2.”
Gaston
“It’s not Class 2-1’s responsibility.”
Milim
“That’s right.”
Leo
“Then should Class 2-1 do nothing?”
Milim
“That’s not the case.”
Gaston
“Oh?”
Milim
“You still greet them.”
Leo
“Yes.”
Milim
“You still talk when necessary.”
Gaston
“Naturally.”
Milim
“And you cooperate during sports festivals or committee work.”
Alberto
“That is the basis of living in a group.”
Leo
“But you don’t force yourself to become friends?”
Milim
“Yeah.”
Gaston
“Hahaha!! That’s a normal sense of distance!”
Alberto
“Rather, it could be called a mature relationship.”
Leo
“A mature relationship?”
Alberto
“It means coexisting while maintaining your own position, rather than changing yourself to suit the other person.”
Milim
“Milim thinks this part is important.”
Gaston
“What is?”
Milim
“When it comes to international issues, there are people who forget their own position.”
Leo
“Ah...”
Milim
“They worry too much about what the other side thinks and stop thinking about what they themselves want to do.”
Alberto
“You cannot build a healthy relationship that way.”
Gaston
“It’s the same with friends.”
Milim
“That’s right.”
Leo
“Indeed, even with friends, it won’t last if only one side is putting up with it.”
Alberto
“Because a relationship is something built by both parties.”
Milim
“That’s why Milim thinks...”
Gaston
“Yeah.”
Milim
“There is no need to treat the other side as an enemy more than necessary.”
Leo
“Yes.”
Milim
“But there is also no need to fawn over them just to be liked.”
Gaston
“So the middle ground is what’s important.”
Milim
“Yeah.”
Alberto
“Observe etiquette. Keep promises. Cooperate when necessary.”
Leo
“That’s enough, isn’t it?”
Milim
“Milim thinks that is the normal human relationship taught at school.”
Gaston
“Hahaha!! It’s strangely easy to understand when you think about it in terms of school!”
Milim
“And perhaps international society is easier to understand if you think about it from that perspective, too.”
♦️Chapter 4: What the teacher really wanted to teach
Gaston
“But still, what was it that the teacher really wanted to say?”
Leo
“I’m curious about that too. We often heard, ‘Let’s all get along.’”
Alberto
“So, here is a question. Was the teacher really saying, ‘Become best friends with everyone’?”
Gaston
“That’s impossible. If there are 38 people, there will be some you get along with and some you don’t.”
Leo
“I think so too.”
Milim
“Milim thinks so too.”
Alberto
“What is it that the teacher stops?”
Gaston
“Fighting.”
Leo
“Bullying, too.”
Milim
“Badmouthing and leaving people out, too.”
Alberto
“Exactly. In other words, what the teacher is trying to protect is not friendship, but order.”
Gaston
“Order, huh.”
Leo
“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
Milim
“School doesn’t work because everyone is best friends, you know.”
Gaston
“Hahaha!! If there were a school like that, it would be scary instead!”
Leo
“That’s true.”
Milim
“Don’t fight. Don’t belittle others. Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble. Cooperate when necessary. That’s how a school runs.”
Alberto
“Society is the same.”
Gaston
“I see.”
Leo
“Then international society is also...”
Alberto
“Of course, it’s not as simple as a school. However, as long as humans are gathered, the roots are common.”
Milim
“That’s why Milim feels the word ‘friendship’ is being used too loosely.”
Gaston
“What do you mean?”
Milim
“When you hear ‘friendship,’ everyone imagines being best friends, right? But I don’t think that’s what the teacher wanted to teach.”
Leo
“Then what was it?”
Alberto
“It is the method of living in the same society even with people you don’t get along with.”
Gaston
“I see.”
Milim
“That’s right.”
Leo
“...”
Milim
“What the teacher was teaching wasn’t how to make friends.”
Gaston
“Oh?”
Milim
“It was the method of getting along in the same place even with people you don’t get along with.”
Leo
“That’s why school runs.”
Alberto
“And society runs, too.”
Gaston
“So it’s the same for countries.”
Milim
“Yeah. That’s why Milim thinks...”
Leo
“About what?”
Milim
“Japan and South Korea don’t need to be best friends.”
Gaston
“Yeah.”
Milim
“As part of the same White Team, we cooperate when necessary.”
Alberto
“Yes.”
Milim
“But there is no need to force ourselves to like each other.”
Leo
“Indeed...”
Milim
“Observe etiquette.”
Gaston
“Keep promises, too.”
Milim
“And protect your own position.”
Alberto
“That is a healthy relationship.”
Milim
“I think what the teacher was teaching us was, surprisingly, those kinds of obvious things.”
♦️Afterword
What you learn at school isn’t just academics.
The sense of distance between people.
How to cooperate.
And how not to fight.
I don’t think the phrase ‘Let’s all get along’ meant that you had to become best friends with everyone.
There are people you get along with.
There are people you don’t.
Even so, you live in the same place.
To do that, you don’t belittle others.
You don’t stir up unnecessary trouble.
You cooperate when necessary.
And you also value your own position.
International society is not as simple as a school.
There is history.
There is the economy.
There is national security.
Even so, as long as humans are gathered, the root parts might not actually be that different.
If you ever get lost looking at international issues, I want you to remember your junior high school days just once.
The answer the teacher taught you a long time ago might still be there.
Fin