 For warmongers, it's always 1938, notes from the edge of the narrative matrix. Hawks always say our geopolitical situation resembles that of 1938, so that any call for de-escalation, diplomacy, or detente can be portrayed as appeasement. It's never 1919, when the conditions which would give rise to World War II were put in place, or or any of the early 20th century years when the trajectory toward World War I could have easily been turned away from. Our fetishization for World War II has eclipsed from memory the fact that it was the single worst thing that ever happened on this planet. The trauma it inflicted upon our species still reverberates through our collective consciousness to this day, and avoiding it would have been objectively good. Even if we fully espouse all the grandiose, ego-stroking, Anglo-American narratives about World War II, you don't want to have a modern Churchill and FDR bravely standing against the forces of evil. What you want is for such a stand to be unnecessary because the conflict was avoided, but that's not how you score political points in Washington and London. That's not how you pull ratings as a news outlet. That's not how you sell weapons as an arms manufacturer, and it's not how you advance hegemonic agendas as an empire. That's why peace doesn't get a voice. And oh yeah, did I mention there are fucking nuclear weapons now? Even the dumbest of warmongers should want to postpone reenacting their favorite Hollywood World War II movies in the modern world because it's impossible to win a world war now. Stop buying this it's 1938 bullshit. It's nothing like 1938, and a massive conflict can most definitely be avoided. Like the Dao De Jing says, prevent trouble before it arises. Put things in order before they exist. The giant pine tree grows from a tiny sprout. The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet. Or, as we say in the West, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The only thing dumber than the risks our leaders are taking with our world is the reasons why they are taking those risks. It's not for anything more noble or righteous than the desire to rule the world. Just stupid garden variety power hunger. Russia, don't cross our red lines in Ukraine or we'll take action. US politicians, they're bluffing, cross those lines, Russia invades. China, don't cross our red lines in Taiwan or we'll take action. US politicians, they're bluffing, cross those red lines. Can't believe we're adding a whole new country to risk nuclear war with, just because Nancy Pelosi's too fucking old to care if she gets shot down over Taiwan. So it looks like Ukraine has begun using US made weapons to strike Russian territory. At a time when dangerous escalations between nuclear superpowers is at an almost daily occurrence now, this one stands head and shoulders above most of the others and deserves special attention. There are many, many potential scenarios which could spark a nuclear exchange, but the US-Ukraine NATO alliance continually pursuing a line of attack into Russia is by far the most surefire way to get there. Let's hope that option remains off the table. Western powers aren't censoring Russian media to protect our minds from Russian propaganda. They are censoring Russian media because it interferes with Western propaganda. If we were being told the truth about this war, there wouldn't be such a wildly unprecedented push to censor, intimidate, troll and silence anyone who asks if we're being lied to. People who are ideologically prohibited from seeing capitalism as the obvious source of society's ills are forced to make up other things to blame those ills on like elite pedivore cabals, Jews, immigrants, the LGBT community, and Satan. Vastly outnumbering your rulers but choosing not to overthrow them because you think the status quo might someday make you wealthy is the same as having all the power in the world and trading it away for a lottery ticket. Love so hard it terrifies you. Keep writing poetry after your 20s. Dismiss anyone who tells you to get thick skin. Master the art of seeing beauty in each moment. Find enough inner stability to let life destroy you. Learn that it's safe to let go. There's nowhere to fall to.