Sean, a fine exposition on "pride" - entirely sums up my own concerns with the circumstances in which some people exude it. For my own part I'm not even sure whether it's OK to be proud of my daughter. To me it implies she's an extension of me, rather than her own person.

In the heat of the moment (1942) Churchill was saying that retribution for the ghastly crimes of the Axis powers should be one of the main aims of the war. By the time of the Nuremburg show trials, he had backed off that a bit, and by 1948 he was saying that reconciliation had to be the main goal. If he could have that view of the war in 1948, surely we can manage as much in 2001.

And I can't see what that John Donne line has got to do with it. I think it's more pertinent that Santayana said he who ignores history is destined to repeat it. If only for that reason, I appreciate you bringing the Japanese incident to my awareness. But let's move on.

(Churchill of course, famously changed his mind on several occasions. But then he always said he'd rather be right than consistent.)