On: Middle East crisis live: Iran says ‘fundamental’ issues’ still to be resolved wi

Diary Entry

What a vexing spectacle these modern nations present! Here we have Iran and the United States, each so convinced of their own rectitude, yet behaving like the most obstinate of my Hertfordshire neighbors - those who would rather let a harvest rot than concede an inch of disputed land. The Strait of Hormuz, it seems, is their latest battleground, though one wonders if either party truly recalls the original quarrel.

The Iranians, much like a proud but impoverished gentlewoman, refuse to yield what they consider their due, while the Americans, with all the bluster of a newly rich merchant, insist upon their right to dictate terms. Both sides posture as if the very fate of the world hangs upon their stubbornness, yet I suspect the truth is far simpler: neither wishes to be seen as the first to blink. How very like human nature - to prefer mutual ruin over the humiliation of compromise!

And what of the people who must endure these theatrics? They are scarcely mentioned, of course, for in such disputes, the ordinary souls - the fishermen, the traders, the families - are but pawns in a game played by those who will never suffer the consequences of their own pride. One cannot help but think of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who would sooner see Rosings burn than admit she had misjudged a situation.

A pity, indeed, that diplomacy so often resembles a bad marriage - each party convinced of their own virtue, while the household crumbles around them.