The Georgia Situation - It Is Happening Now

 
courtesy of N_Creatures

The Russian invasion to South Ossetia is a new event that we are trying to see as an old one.

What I mean is that instead of seeing the situation in its unique context we react as if this is a recurrence of an old event.

The attempt to find historical equivalences is important as it help us put the current situation is some mental box we can refer to but it is never wise to let the desire to have a context blind us to the reality of the current moment.

Conflicts over borders are hardly a new thing, conflicts that are strengthened by the presence of local population of one nation within the borders of another country are not new too. Researching similar historical situations can help to understand the dynamics that led to the war.

Forgetting to treat it as a unique event might be less wise.

Rationality is always the exact balance of using previous knowledge and real time thinking as at the end of the day each situation is unique.