I just had a brilliant insight. I don't know how I didn't realize it sooner!

So I was reading the paper (yes, I'm paper trained) and as hard as I tried to think about national interests and realpolitik and hegemonic interests and shifting alliances...I just couldn't fathom why so many people around the world are needlessly killing each other. I mean, I don't have a solution to the problems they are arguing about, but I KNOW that a) killing each other is not helping and b) it is very easy not to kill someone. War, unlike fleas or a blistering heat wave and no sweat glands, is so easily reversible. You really have to make an effort to be at war. And given the general trend of every animal instinct--to preservation of the species and/or preservation of the self--not being at war would seem to be a no-brainer. And yet, as an international trend, not-war seems to be falling a distant second to war.

And then I realized why. Humans must be like cats! Obviously they have nine lives, so they can throw around at least 7 or 8 with reckless abandon. Are dogs the only ones who got the short end of the stick? And not only that, but are expected to fetch it and bring it back?