An analogy of deterrence and diplomacy

By this point in time, all upper sec Marists would have been taught the concept of deterrence and diplomacy. I would like to share an analogy of my two sons to illustrate the importance of these two concepts.

Younger Son:
- Small in size but physically strong. He can outrun and outfight his elder brother who is 2 years older. With a temper to match, he will be a deadly enemy to mess around with. During Marist Youth Day, some Sec 4L students tried to challenge him to fight and he had no qualms. This was a win win match because the 4L students will not dare to thrash him because they fear his mommy more. (heh)

- High EQ. When he started kindergarten this year, he asked us to give him biscuits and sweets to eat on the schoolbus. The next thing we knew, he was giving out all these biscuits and sweets to the older K2 children (sometimes to the extent there is nothing left for him). As a result, he has many good friends, even those from the older level, K2. They would call him up at home and give him stickers.

Even without us teaching him anything, my younger son has effectivly practiced the concept of deterrence and diplomacy. He has his physical strength to defend himself (deterrence) and he has made a lot of friends to help him (diplomacy). The elder son, unfortunately is the opposite. He talks faster than he thinks - hence probably has few friends and he is all bones and flesh, basically no strength.

Hence, deterrence is to strengthen oneself so that your enemies will think twice before attacking you as they fear the consequences. Also, even if they attack you, you have the means to defend yourself.

Diplomacy is the act of surrounding yourself with friends. With friends, you can pursue common interests (e.g. exchange gifts) and friends can help you if you are in trouble. Also, diplomacy can also act as deterrence. This is because, with friends, your enemies will think twice before attacking you as they would have to take on your friends which will incur greater damages for them.