And the sanity contest is won by Pope Francis

I generally don't quote religious leaders, but today I agree with the pope -- yet again he is a voice of reason. War a 'shameful capitulation', Pope Francis says “Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil,” the leader of the Catholic Church said in tweets published in English and Russian.

It's sad that of all our leaders he is the only one who seems sane. How have Putin, Xi, Boris, Trump (Biden is slightly better; he is way too old to lead America, but he does not appear to be mad) and others like them ended up in charge? What about the non-descript creatures that don't seem fit to lead to anything other than disaster? How can we build institutions that fail us so? I don't believe war is ever necessary. There must be a way that makes sense and does not result in such destruction. Hiram W Johnson said in 1917 that "The first casualty when war comes is truth" and this still holds true today.

Another of my favourite quotes by Pope Francis is "who am I to judge?". He said it when referring to gay people. Perhaps I am wrong to judge world leaders. But when everything I read seems so wrong, I can't help it. The UK, the US and some of the EU give automatic weapons to civilians in Ukraine and brag it's the next best thing to being there. They don't let men of fighting age leave Ukraine. All have to be part of the blood bath. The conflict will blow over in time. But when? how many will die? how far will it extend? and what will be left behind? The cold war lasted until 1991 -- a very long 50 years or so.

It is said that Nero set Rome on fire so that he could watch it burn. Some even say he played the fiddle by the light of the flames. Of course, since it happened so long ago it's unclear how much of Nero's story is true. However, it's pretty certain he was a horrible person, a criminal, and ultimately mad. But are our leaders better today? Our Neros are giving weapons to civilians and applauding each other for that. It's the only thing they could have done they say. It's like saying the only choice is to be a mad criminal. Perhaps it is, if one is a criminal and is in charge. But why do we keep them in charge? Many US presidents who started a war were reelected. So, they must be supported by the kind of people who gain from wars. They gain as long as the war is not on their soil. Perhaps that is why there are so many people in charge who are either criminals (e.g., Putin) or criminally incompetent (e.g., EU leaders). It seems to make no difference either way. The leaders in Eastern Europe merge the two categories in a brilliant show of ingenuity. And they are not even that original if one thinks of Nero and of other leaders of the past.