Reply #10: A big part of the civil war was about, like the mafia, once you're in,

[EST]

you're in. Any attempt to reverse the progress can be viewed pretty much any way one wants to, and people will.

Forty years ago, I had huge visions of a united world, or united hemispheres, at least, in order to stop war and the notion that commerce would be an important factor in universal peace was enchanting.
Now I realize that none of it really matters. What we are really doing is fighting the same percentages of vile, nasty, vicious examples of humanity that show up no matter what the circumstances.

In my darker moments, it occurs to me that, perhaps, wars that eliminate a large portion of young men every couple of generation might be a good thing, or might actually be a long range survival mechanism so that the race itself can survive, not necessarily any particular individual.

Sunny, late spring afternoons every day, forever and ever, just don't seem to be in the cards for humans.