Kudos..

Two days ago, a filipino hostage named Angelo de la cruz was released by his kidnappers in Iraq after the Phillipine government acted in earnest on their demands of withdrawing troops from the country. The Filipino President acted decisively in the days following the release of the news that a Filipino was being held hostage. 
 
The Phillipines has promised to withdraw all its troops by a certain date. This decision has led the US to strongly condemn the Filipino government and its President. The US believes that this decision puts others inside Iraq at risk since terrorists and kidnappers will gain confidence by having reversed the decision of a foreign country. 
 
After being released and having been brought home to the Phillipines, Angelo De La Cruz thanked the Filipino government profusely for having put value to his life. This, I think is the essence of this whole situation. Putting worth to a human life. Deaths have become numbers, casualties have become inconsequential. Soldiers and civilians die everyday and its gotten to the point that no one is even keeping track any more. Even news station that were formerly counting and publicising the number of deaths don't bother to come up with sombre graphics anymore to flash the latest death toll. 

It's a sad situation but amidst all the bad news, comes this shining light that shows that a government can care for its citizens. That it can step up and make up for its past follies by trying to rescue one of its own. 
 
The Filipino government can expect a lot of problems dealing with the US for the next few years, yet they decided that this trouble was worth the life of a citizen. Why should the Philipines lose one of its citizens when it has been clearly proven that the invasion was illegal, that it had no basis in reality. On the contrary, it was based upon falsifications and delusions. 
 
I want to applaud the Filipino government for doing something that other more powerful nations have not done. There might be a lot of behind the scenes, internal politics involved in this, but i choose to ignore it for now. This, to me is the most positive international news all year. The fact that a man's life was saved and more importantly the fact that an official government cared enough to save his life is a sign that just maybe, the whole world hasn't gone mad. That maybe there are some nations in this world that would choose to anger the world's superpower rather than lose one of their own. 
 
Sometimes, sanity, inspiration, leadership and bravery can come from the most unlikely of places. Kudos to the Phillipines.