Posted by zeugma on April 15, 2006, at 13:05:31
In reply to Re: messages and methods » zeugma, posted by Dinah on April 15, 2006, at 8:25:12
> > some of us Babble alumni should join the diplomatic corps. but one should not always trust a diplomat either.
> >
> > of course, good diplomats are aware that they have an intrinsic credibility problem. it's a dirty trade.
> >
> > -z
>
> I do hope you're referring to political exigencies, and not to being civil and diplomatic in how they express themselves. And I would assume that you are referring to professional diplomats, not those Babble alumni who exhibit some of the same methods of expressing ourselves.
>
>
it was far better to settle the Cuban Missile Crisis by diplomacy than by nuclear war. so I am hardly critical of a profession to which we all may owe our lives, or of those Babblers who might qualify for that profession.still, I wonder if many diplomats are familiar with Sir Henry Wotton's famous definition: "A diplomat is an honest man sent abroad to lie for the good of his country."
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:633260
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060412/msgs/633498.html