Western governments have generally tried to contain genocide by appeasing its architects. But the sad record of the last century shows that the walls the United States tries to build around genocidal societies almost inevitably shatter.
Interpretation
Appeasing those who commit atrocities often leads to failure in preventing further violence.
Samantha Power highlights the ineffectiveness of appeasement policies toward regimes that commit genocide. Despite efforts to contain such regimes, history demonstrates that these attempts often crumble, leading to further violence and humanitarian crises. The quote serves as a cautionary reminder that stronger actions are necessary to address and prevent atrocities, rather than merely attempting to placate their perpetrators.
In practice
During a discussion on international relations, one might quote Power to emphasize the importance of addressing human rights violations seriously.
Sanctions did indeed help to bring Iran to the negotiating table. But sanctions did not stop the advance of Iran's nuclear program. Negotiations have done that, and it is in our interest not to deny ourselves the chance to achieve a long-term, comprehensive solution that would deny Iran a nuclear weapon.
Zimbabweans are severely malnourished, and deaths from starvation occur even in the cities. The country has not yet suffered nationwide famine only because international donors have stepped in.
No more than a surgeon can operate while tweeting can you reach your potential with one ear in, one ear out. You actually have to reacquaint yourself with concentration. We all do.
When dictators feel their support slipping among adults, it is not unusual for them to alter school textbooks in the hope of enlisting impressionable youths in their cause.
Throughout history, when societies face tough economic times, we have seen democratic reforms deferred, decreased trust in government, persecution of minority groups, and a general shrinking of the democratic space.
All advocacy is, at its core, an exercise in empathy.
Pity is one of the noblest emotions available to human beings; self-pity is possibly the most ignoble . . . . [It] is an incapacity, a crippling emotional disease that severely distorts our perception of reality . . . a narcotic that leaves its addicts wasted and derelict.
Know how to keep anticipation alive: always strive to feed it, by letting the much promise more, and the one achievement be the announcement only of a greater. Put not all your reserves into the first throw; the great trick is to dole out strength, and to dole out mind, in such a fashion as to bring forward increasingly the fulfillment of what was expected of you.
Whenever there is a simple error that most laymen fall for, there is always a slightly more sophisticated version of the same problem that experts fall for.
Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.
The consolation of reading biography: Most great men have led lives even more miserable than our own.
My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.
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