In fairness, that’s one of the ten commandments – “Thou shalt not kill unless said killing is intended to silence, through terror, criticism of your authoritarian regime and assuming, of course, that you can afford to make reparations by buying billions of dollars worth of weapons with which to kill on a larger scale.”
It is the 6th most important commandment followed closely by, “Thou shalt not commit adultery if you are not willing to commit adultery with many women who are sufficiently attractive to justify said adultery and under the assumption that you will create a shell corporation to conceal payments to the women in question so that they shalt not tell your wife or the electorate.”
I heard that US Customs can prevent you from entering the country if you break US laws while in other countries, even if the thing you did was legal there. It was reported in the context of Canada legalizing pot, and sounded crazy, but I can see a more reasonable application for it now.
Perhaps just that the Great White Satan was better at it. But look at the time lines and it becomes apparent that the Great White Satan is just the latest in a great line of Satan’s, and that it has been at it for a considerably shorter time than some Satans.
That the entirety of human history has been drug away from progress and peace and hope by an unending succession of devils doesn’t make me any more enamored of the latest set, even if they’re less effective in their efforts than their forebears.
If nothing else, we’ve seen this all play out time and again. We know how the story ends. We know right from wrong. And we keep letting ourselves be led astray by our worst impulses, over and over and over again.
The sheer reliability of human failing is inevitable enough to set your watch by, but familiarity doesn’t need to breed fondness there.
