Editor’s note: TPOL might have published this yesterday, Friday 01 April 2022, but too many folks may have thought it was some kind of joke.

In the last few days, various members and leaders of the EU have joined DC’s cry of more and more, longer and longer sanctions on Russia. Even if Russia and Ukraine end their war. Even if Russia withdraws troops from Ukraine.

Russia, we are told, must be punished. They must be isolated, quarantined, put into Coventry. Why? To force them to “grow up” and become a peaceful and useful member of the world community. To make them overthrow Putin and his kind. To gain sanity.

Okay, to a lot of people, that makes sense.

But…

Look at another piece of news that also came out this week: Even the CDC has now admitted what has been known (and sometimes even reported) for months. Teens and children’s mental health and stability – and their learning – has been totally disrupted by COVID-19. Not as a result of the illness itself, but as a result of the Lockdown: the panic that closed schools, forced learning to be done online at a distance, ended virtually all physical interactions and socializing of youth, and at the same time took away livelihoods. The physical and mental conditions of children – some sources claim one out of two – has been far worse than the number of children with serious illness or whom have died. Physical and mental child abuse, deteriorating physical condition (lack of outdoor exercise, poor food, etc.), and even suicide are related to the deprivations mandated by governmental agencies. Denial of privacy, regular activities, social interaction, and essential goods and services, all contributed to this deterioration.

So do I get this right? The West, and DC, are now attempting to do the same thing to Russia that those same nations did to their own children. Actions which do not seem to have done anything significant to reduce illnesses and deaths from the coronavirus?

And this will make Russia sane and normal and just like most of the nations on this planet?

Or consider Heinlein’s old fable about how to drive a dog to madness: pet him one time, beat him the next time, and so forth. It works so WELL for dogs.

Or children.

So let the rest of the world do it to a nation – actually a federation of nations – of 145 million people.

Didn’t it really work well after the Great War to punish Germany for its war of aggression against France and Russia and the UK – and the US? The victors (by default – NO one, not even the US, really won that stinking, stupid, and pretty much accidental war) punished Germany. Again and again. “They’ll learn not to do THAT again.”

Right. It took all of twenty years for THAT lesson to be ignored. How long will it take Russia on 2022?

There must be a better way, but it involves things that no world political leaders are willing to do: treat people well, promote (don’t force) liberty with responsibility for all people, high and low. And stop treating people like dirt. Even Russians.

No, it is easier to ban Russian food restaurants. “Russian” vodka. Even Russian music and singers and trees. And because whooping up the mob to go after Russia distracts the mob from what you are doing to them – which is treating them like criminals.

Of COURSE we can have world peas with more and more of the world’s people spinning around insanely.