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04:59 PM
Bikram Vohra
JournalismPakistan.com
July 31, 2013
In 400 BC Chinese general Sun Tzu who was a bit of a philosopher when he wasn't going around shoving swords up people’s solar plexuses said, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. Smart stuff, lot of sense.
But these days, it is tough to know who is who or is it who’s whom? Never mind, the point is most of us have been dicked so often by so called friends and taken to the cleaners that we really can’t put our money on whether to keep the guy close or closer.
Guess a couple of thousand years ago the line was clear, if you are not my buddy you are my foe, period, this or that. Now, we masquerade with such dexterity and we wear the mask of convenience like it was moulded for us, no friends, no enemies, only passing interests, use them like tissues from that box and fling them away.
I think the really bugging part is that we choose badly and that makes us angry at ourselves that we don’t have the capability to know the difference. If you sit down and list the two categories it will come as a bit of a shock as you find yourself pausing before you put the name down.
A bit harsh I reckon since we all have friends who have stood the test of time but still not sure the general’s dictum would fit into the modern times. So often yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s business partner and vice versa. Told you, it’s all mixed up. I see it so often...from loathing to love in one brief moment...close or closer, mate.
(The writer is a Senior Editorial Advisor of Khaleej Times and the paper’s former Editor. He has also been the Editor of Gulf News, Gulf Today, Emirates Today and Bahrain Tribune)
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