“Law only has value when enforced” this is largely overlooked by the authorities.
I recall, when I refereed at the national Taekwondo championships, an unruly coach became verbally violent against us officials, threatening a repeat of the 9/11 terrorist attacks while his club members were throwing bottles at us.
This serious breach of the ‘Coaches Code of Conduct’ was met with impunity by the Association’s authorities. In fact, soon after, he was quoted one of Australia’s most elite coaches!
Another coach, who repeatedly violated the child protection rules was proclaimed one of Australia’s most respected instructors.
Littering, and bicycle helmet laws are poorly enforced.
Let’s escalate this topic and raise it to a more potent level.
While Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot rose to power, nothing was done until it was too late. International law and treaties weren’t worth the paper they were written on.
‘White Elephant’ laws and words are baseless rhetoric wrapped in illusionary action, while civilians, including children were brutally murdered. They died in agony, cut to pieces by Josef Mengele. They were tortured in the Gulags under Stalin and Brezhnev. They were bludgeoned to death by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. They are now being blown to pieces by the insane egomaniac, coward and tyrant, Vladimir Putin.
Putin and Xi Zinping have made their imperialist intentions very clear, same as Hitler made his clear when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf’.
Negotiations with dictators are in vain, so-called ‘white elephants’, for dictators are compulsive liars on anything that doesn’t fit their world view.
Sanctions are effective in the long run, often after the damage is done. What the world needs now is early intervention, actively targeting authoritarian leaders, before they accumulate excessive power. Should this deadline be missed, and the first shots are fired, the only option is to retaliate immediately with overwhelming military force, cutting the head of the dragon by targeting the aggressor’s leaders.
“Cheers to the brave people of Ukraine”!