I grew up in the shadow of World War II. The newsreels showed the devastation in Europe and England; in Russia and in China; in so many places. War is a dreadful thing; it creates enemies that last through generations but most of all it destroys. It breaks people whose mental ability never recovers. It creates heroes with people determined to move forward at whatever the cost.
Prayers that this war will soon end. Russia is a huge country with so much wealth in it; why risk all of that for a legacy? When you die Mr Putin you risk being remembered as a villain even by your own people; you will have let people's sons die in a war that they did not wish to fight. Russia, in particular, appears to hate people who do that.
Having peace does appear to be one of the hardest things in the world to attain. Although no World Wars since I was born; the peace has been shattered many times in many places. When we visited Strasbourg in 2014, it was a wonder seeing the European Parliament. Europe is a huge collection of nations with a population of just over three quarters of a billion peoples (including Russia with their 146 million peoples). Europe has found peace now and they want to keep peace and they have the means to keep the peace. I wasn't alive during WWII; I have lived in the aftermath; the Cold War; the wonderful 90s when Europe became a centerpiece of life and happening once again. When we were there in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 we visited countries all over the British Isles and Europe. People were happy and they will not be willing to let that happiness go now. We have moved beyond war. War is archaic.
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