Mariano Carrasco CONSIDERING my physical condition, being on dialysis, I have somewhat expressed here that I would want to live a more calm and sedate kind of life. A more spiritual one, as if I am gone. But no, I’m still here, alive, kicking, breathing, loving and capable of grieving. I don’t want a third World War for my loving kids, my beloved wife, my relatives and friends, for my countrymen, and the world at large. In such a war, all of us will suffer. True, the Americans have superior firepower. That was the case in the 1940s, during World War II. But the destruction and disruption of millions of lives and cities, the horrors of nuclear death where everybody will suffer,  should be avoided. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: if a shooting war starts, I will have to tell all my children to leave Manila and Cebu at the earliest available flight, and come back to Cagayan de Oro so we can be together and spend a few more moments of unity and joy. But I doubt if the hospitals would still be around and functioning in a state of war, much less the dialysis machines to keep myself alive. Much can be said about China’s action in the West Philippine Sea, or  South China Sea as we have long known the disputed areas to be. True, the Chinese have long navigated these waters, long before Filipinos or other nationalities did, but the point is, they should not have built the man made-islands and convert them, the reefs, into military bases. Since, there is an ongoing dispute, and judicial or arbitration proceedings are taking place, all  countries should have refrained, and should refrain, from taking precipitate and risky action. But the more important question is: should we provoke a shooting war or cheer on the Americans to go ahead and come close to a confrontation? I doubt if we want to become the  cheering squad of the United States in a nuclear ballgame. We should have a sense of balance and proportion. If an ant bites our toe, should we cut off our feet to get rid of the itch? If there’s a rat in the house, should we burn the entire house to get rid of the rat? I understand that freedom of navigation has not been disrupted so far. Commercial ships continue to pass through the sealanes near and around these reefs and rocks. The commercial value or the presence of oil and resources underneath these reefs and rocks remains unverified or doubtful. And assuming there are vast resources underneath, should we go to war? We, the living and dying, should be sober. (Mariano B. Carrasco is a lawyer based in Cagayan de Oro.)