Solomon's three steps are seen today in practical statesmanship. We should remember that today's enemy is tomorrow's friend. Member nations of the United Nations generally apply this same three-step plan that ends in economic sanctions being applied by the United Nations as a whole. Sometimes even ceasing relations with another is not enough and force of arms must be taken to protect weaker neighbors from aggression. Whether with neighbors or nations, armed conflict is ultimately sorrowful. It is an admission that patient diplomacy and logic have not been successful. It is premeditated violence to protect the weak. Many people, still developing in religious maturity and understanding, feel torment when violence is necessary, because their religious understanding does not extend beyond helping "all" others. It is a question of who is helped and why. Some people too choose to pass from this life as martyrs. Others feel compelled to stay until the end and protect the weak like a shepherd keeping predatory dogs away from the helpless lambs. There may be a time for each course of action. The confusion between religion and forcing our will on others is caused by our understanding of what helping others means. If we help others to hurt someone, we become harmful ourselves. We become "Enablers" [1] to those hurting others. Without our consent, the aggressor could not have taken advantage of his weaker neighbor. The Eastern religions, particularly Zen Buddhism, which is intimately associated with the Samurai warrior of Japan, take great care to teach tranquility and self-control in the use of force. Anger is not a part of thoughtful action. Aikido, The Way of Harmony, teaches tranquility in the use of force, and compares it to the calm in the eye of a hurricane.[2] The great Christian pastor, Dietrich Bonhoffer, pointed out that "just causes" for anger did not exist in the earliest accounts of Christ's Sermon on the Mount.[3] * * * * * Dealing with Interpersonal Conflict. 1. Miller, Angelyn. The Enabler. -- When Helping Harms the Ones You Love. New York Ballentine Books, 1988. 2. Stevens, John. Abundant Peace -- the Biography of Morehei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. Boston: Shambhala, 1987 3. Bobhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Macmillan, 1963. * * * * * ================================== Interpersonal Problem Solving: Drama and literary analysis as a tool in personal problem solving. The structure of Aristotle's Pentad [1] for five act plays is useful as a framework for solving personal problems. 1. Who is the hero? What are his weaknesses? How is he likely to fall? 2. Who is the villain? Is the villain another person, nature or society? 3. What external events lead to the climax with the villain? 4. How does the climax with the villain turn out? 5. What did the hero learn about his own internal weaknesses in the encounter with the villain?