A square peg in an oval office

your attention, please

So, two statesmen walk into a bar, and the first one says to the other, “This round’s on me, on one condition.”

And the second one says, “Oh? What condition?”

And the first guy says, “You have to say you started the war. Then you have to court my favor in a cringing or flattering manner. Then sign this treaty. For the war you started."

“That’s three conditions, not one,” the second guy countered. “And I clearly did not start the war.”

“You don’t get to say what’s true. I do. Plus you never said thanks for the drink.”

There was a big fight with raised voices, and mean-boy language, and a third guy sided with the first, so it was two against one.

We love a good fight, don’t we? It commands attention. “Look! Grown men behaving horribly!” always gets more cameras, and likes, and reposts than “Here we can see statecraft being handled in a dignified and gracious manner.” Yawn.

We get to argue about whether T——- won or Z——- won, which of course misses the point entirely.

The point is: why didn’t the first guy just buy a round of drinks for Democracy, like his predecessors had done for seven decades? Instead of trashing the bar and making everyone in the world uncomfortable?

You tell me.