trying so hard to see the causes and reasons for things, in order to be scrupulously fair, that you miss the obvious. And this can lead to paralysis and indecision, a charge the Conservatives level at us frequently, not without some justification.

No one doubts the historical factors that lead up to contemporary conflicts. Of course, the events of the modern world are a direct consequence of Western Imperialism, military, political and economic, corporate greed and European racism and rivalries. We know this, the Conservatives ignore it; they prefer to dwell on OUR virtue and exceptionalism and THEIR barbarity and evil.

But why stop there? You could go back to the the Ottoman Empire (Muslim on Muslim aggression). You could go back to the Crusades (Western on Eastern aggression). You could even go back to the Medieval Islamic wave of conquest that swept across North Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe (Eastern on Western aggression). You could even make a case that Rome and Alexander started the conflict of East and West. How far back do you want to go looking for excuses?

Sure, there are historical reasons why things happen, but we live in the here and now. Only a tiny proportion of the populations of the East and West are even aware of this strategic history, and those who do are not entitled to use it as a justification for their tactical action (or inaction). The people who are victims and warriors of these wars, for the most part, know nothing of those events, even if those who incite them may be perfectly aware of them and cynically exploit them.

We should all recognize why things happen, and how we got here. Understanding is essential to justice, and certainly to action. But we need not apologize for our ancestors, or suffer for their crimes. It was not our fault they did what they did. And we owe nothing to their victims, and certainly not to their self-appointed avengers. That was then, this is now.

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But you're right. It is all about scale, context and causality: temporal resolution as I called it in an earlier post on a different topic in "Mysteries of the Multiverse". We are both right, and so is Bowser. That's what makes US different from THEM. We understand that we can be swept along by historical currents, but we are still entitled, even obligated, to swim as best we can.