Realism vs Reality

More than a dozen of my relatives were killed in the Holocaust, so I know something of the nature of Genocide.

It is easy for human rights crusaders and peace activists to insist on perfection in the world.

But the policymaker who has to deal with reality learns to seek the best that can be achieved rather than the best that can be imagined.

It would be wonderful to banish the role of the military power from world affairs.

But the world is not perfect, as I learned as a child.

Those with true responsibility for peace, unlike those on the sidelines, cannot afford pure idealism. They must have the courage to deal with ambiquities and accommodations to realize that great goals can be achieved only in imperfect steps.

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