Civil War as Psychotherapy

I am disturbed at how often i hear Civil War being proposed by the very people who would most likely be its victims. Just the other day, commenter BrianB over at mlq3 sounded like a true Jacobin when he declared:

"Pare, France is a great place to live in because of the Terror. Besides, we have smarter people than Danton and Robespierre. People who know how to blog and look at their email."

Naturally, I was heartened when another commenter Devilsadvc8 responded:

"You’ll be surprised at how many “smart” people revert back to being barbaric when surrounded by evil. I believe Winnie Monsod called it Lucifer Effect (or something) That’s what happened to the French revolution. anger got out of hand, and fellow revolutionaries who showed a hint of sympathy with the enemies, were hanged along with them. it’s like the NPA purges. anything less than blind obedience (or great acting) would be branded as a betrayal of the cause... and btw, if this were to happen (an Bastille-like event), you think those who blog and email will be the ones leading it or the ones being dragged out into the streets? use your imagination man."

Nicely said, i thought to myself, which is why i was taken aback when on the very next day, the same Devilsadvc8 pretty much endorsed BrianB's idea from the day before:

"I believe civil war can do what everyone has failed to do. unite the survivors of that war in a common goal of correcting our past’s terrible effect on our psyche, and forging a new history for the Filipino people. spilling blood and fighting for a cause are what Filipinos need."

I have since had further exchanges with him over at that thread on the merits of this option. What i find specially curious is the commonly held belief in the supposed benefits of such an event on the Philippine national psyche. Back in 2005, another mlq3 commenter 'X' made a similar suggestion:

"you know ive been thinking about something similar to what the automechanic said. Perhaps is lies in the fact that the price we pay for our democracy is too cheap. assemble a few thousand people in Edsa, convince a few influential people to be there too and convince the military to join. it’s too easy.

unlike with bloodshed. it something that nobody wants to experience, and if we as a people carry some sort of baggage in our psyche about not wanting to have bloodshed again, perhaps FIlipinos would be more protective of TRUE democracy."

I really don't understand how they can assume that those are precisely the lessons that will be learned.

Update 08-11-2007: Devilsadvc8 provides a background on the circumstances that has led him to reach his above recommendation. [Devils, thanks for explaining your side.]