Rarefactions: by Andrés Melo Cousineau

The historically irrelevant, self-aggrandizing, tyrannical  and cowardly  narco-terrorists of the infamous FARC have assassinated —–they slit his throat rather than shoot him—– the 69-year-old Governor of Caquetá, Luis Francisco Cuéllar, and  his personal security  police officer, Javier Simón García.

Let the united strength of all the diverse Colombian civilians be set in  intelligent heartfelt unison  against them —-and their silent and their outspoken  accomplices——  with all the might of our sorrows as on that memorable March 4th,

let the prudent strength of state justice and law fall with the weight of all their deaths upon them with the most severe of physical punishments, specially for their lawless drug-loving leaders,

let the formidable strength of the democratic military forces continue to be unleashed fiercely against their inhuman terror with the military genius of many more victorious “Operations Jaque”,

let the historical strength of our party system finally come together to rid us, once and for all, of this enemy of all,

let the united strength of all Colombians be set against those who are undeserving of any type of recognition, undeserving of the privileges of citizenship and undeserving of the grace of forgiveness in this, or any other world,

and, most importantly, let the humble spiritual strength of all Colombians prepare us for the possible graceless fate of those “secuestrados” who remain in their ignoble,  sullen and blood-ridden hands.  May we be truly forgiven if all does not go well.

For we must now more than ever remember what is said by those who are wise:

“This is why  some think that lawgivers, in the course of laying down laws, should exhort and try to turn people towards excellence for the sake of what is fine, on the assumption that those whose habits have been decently developed will listen; but that they should impose forcible constraints in the form of punishments on those who fail to obey, and are rather poor material; and finally that they should cast out the incurable for good; the view is that the decent character  directed as it is toward the fine, will allow words to govern him, whereas the inferior character whose desire is for pleasure needs forcible constraint by pain like a yoked animal. This is why they also say that the pains meted out should be of the sort most opposed to the attracting pleasures.” (Aristotle, NE,  X *9,  1180a5-1180a14: Trans. Broadie.)