28 November 2001 - deep problems

You might imagine that war and destruction were self-limiting, that the desperate pyromaniacs would finally throw themselves to the flames. But no, they come back like TV commercials.

You might imagine that hatred and violence were self-reinforcing, that the cycle of revenge would snowball into the valley of death, removing the blanket of security. But no, world arms sales are down.

Many do imagine. But if the problem were as simple as Fermat’s Last Theorem, we would have solved it by now. We’re afflicted with a moral deficiency; we who brave combat do not dare the struggle to understand what may not be understandable.