Make no mistake Putin started this war and is solely responsible for the tragedies we will experience. But sometime, someday, we may re-enter a world of nuance and ask what behaviors may have factored into, emboldened, or even catalyzed his decision making process.

We are watching Ukrainian brothers and sisters are dying because we've misused our moral authority in the past. We are abandoning freedom fighters to authoritarian oppressors because Ukrainian doesn't have enough oil deposits to merit the outpouring of our American values.

Yes, we have our own issues to deal with, and we can't discount the amount of unchecked corruption in our judical and political system as a factor in what's holding us back.

And we can't downplay the danger democracies around the world are in should Putin be left unchecked.