Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law
I understand that Secretary of State John Kerry is being called in a kind of pejorative way a “nudnik” which I understand is defined as “a person who is a bore or nuisance” in the online Merriam-Webster and a “pest, bore, or dull person” in the Online Yiddish Dictionary and as “tedious, boring” from the Russian nudnyi.
Hooray for John Kerry, for being a pest, a bore, a dull person, tedious and/or a nuisance for peace is far better, in my view, than being a pest, a bore, a dull person, tedious and/or a nuisance for war.
The diplomats have a job that is to go into seemingly hopeless and intractable situations and find a way to make them less hopeless and intractable. People play mind games and all kinds of shenanigans on them and yet they persevere as a pest, a bore, a dull person, tedious and/or a nuisance for peace.
Well, more power to them for the diplomats are the people who can help the hard men and hard women come back from the brink.
This is a time for the finest hour of diplomats all over the world to help us step back from the brink. The hard men and hard women know how to start wars but the diplomats know how to end them.
So hooray for the diplomats. After all, the Bible says, ” Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9