Guns vs. butter....Amen................

And for many Americans, it may well be. But it’s a funny thing about guns and butter: If you get that calculus wrong, you can easily wind up with neither. History offers formidable examples beginning with that sardonic Roman aphorism, Si vis pacem, para bellum: If you would have peace, then prepare for war. More recent examples — from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 — invariably reveal a common factor: We just find it terribly hard to predict our wars, much less their consequences. The American history of willful innocence in the face of relentlessly stubborn facts recalls that wonderful Yiddish proverb: Want to make God laugh? Then tell him your plans.