If an aid flotilla sailed toward Inchon in the face of repeated warnings from the North Koreans not to do it or face the consequences, I would ponder the motivations of the flotilla in proceeding, just as I am here.
I was thinking about this. It doesn't seem all that surprising or shocking an idea that the people on the ships had thought about the prospect of violence occurring at the hands of the IDF, and that they were prepared to accept that possibility.
This idea has been met with outrage and disbelief here. I think the problem arises from our current societal viewpoint on things like this, that we were actually discussing in a different thread a few days ago. We live in a time where personal wellbeing is seen as the paramount goal. Many people would not put their lives on the line in furtherance or defence of a cause or belief, because this would contradict that paramount objective of serving the self.
When we see others putting themselves in harm's way ostensibly for ideals, like soldiers etc, we dismiss is at mental instability, economic greed, etc. It has become difficult if not impossible for us to accept that some people are willing to give up their lives for a cause. It's one of the reasons that islamic fundamentalism is so frightening to us. It worries us that there is a potential foe who is prepared to go farther than we are, in promoting their cause, because often those who are most committed, win in the end.
The reality is that there are people in the world who are not like the way we are. There are people who believe in ideas and causes to the degree that they will die for them. It's possible that some of such people might have been on that ship, and that they had come to terms with the fact that they might be facing death, and they chose to proceed.
