violence begets violence.
Violence should be avoided where possible.
But rules that are not enforced cease to exist. If you want to maintain the unusually peaceful state of world affairs we have today and the international law regime behind it, you must act to deter and punish hostile actors. There's no way around it.
You and I have not been alive in the chaotic centuries our ancestors suffered through. You and I grew up in an era after the age of warring empires, an era where constant war and total war have both been shrinking.
This is the only era where you can entertain the fantasies you entertain and believe they have a shot; in any other era, you would've taken just a single look around you and realized they couldn't conceivably work out.
Don't take it for granted. There are multiple autocrats and cronies hoping you do.
Edited 7/31/2016 06:56:35