Would you betray a friend before betraying your country?

1. 67

   ptosisposted 12 years ago

   Would you betray a friend before betraying your country?
   
   “If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend,” EM Forster (author of Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy), “I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.
   
   

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2. 60

   premsinghposted 12 years ago

   I'll betray my friends rather than betraying my country because i may get several friends if I loose one but I can't get my country if I loose it. I owe my loyalty to my country for everything I possess at the moment

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3. 62

   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   it depends on what you mean by "betray" and what the reasons behind it are. if it meant saving my country, then my friends would understand. if it meant backing up my government when they are wrong, my friend and i would sit back and talk about it later over a beer.

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4. 67

   ptosisposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for the answers
   
   Sometimes it is not possible to know what the best choice is during the heat of the moment. And the personal idea of what a country is. During the revolutionary war or civil war there was not clear winner until it was all over.

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5. 60

   AngelTraderposted 12 years ago

   Ummm...John Le Carre wrote "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"! EM Forster is best known for "A Passage To India". Two eminent authors, one who wrote about cold war spying while the other highlighted British class difference!

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6. 58

   andrew savageposted 11 years ago

   The purpose of having a country and friends is to achieve an ideal objective; if one finds their self on a path without ideals (for example in a crowd with people who hinder idealism) then the person is not betraying anyone so long as the person affirms to their ideals. Of course sometimes we slip up and say stuff we do not mean, which is why the spoken and written words are the most forgivable. So long as the ideals of the country are upheld by decent citizens, then there may not ever be a shortage of good friends... If one does have friends without ideals, it is in the best interest of the one to affirm to the country and seek out better friends.
   
   Undoubtedly there may be people who exaggerate the actions and behaivours of others so completely they themselves are the first shots in the art of betrayal. Such exaggerations tend to be brought on by failure to idealize and an indecision to act on performing for the ideal of home-worthy friends and a utopian country that feels like home.
   
   Lastly, the best friends are those who are above and beyond betrayal and concern themselves with more pressing matters, such as "how shall mankind establish a global unified federation of united nations by the most peaceful means possible?"

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