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World politics is like dealing with crazy neighbors. Imagine you're in a townhouse and sometimes your neighbor shoots a shotgun through your wall. Do you confront? There are no police.

One other neighbor beats their children. Again, no police. Are you going to round up your other neighbors and try to force them change their culture? Or just kinda look the other way. After all, the kids seem happy overall when you see them at neighborhood BBQs.

I suspect this is why the U.S. is/was so good at being the world's police/leader. Cowboy live in a world where everyone has guns. A cowboy is the perfect person you'd want to deescalate a hostile neighbor situations.

The simpleton cowboy tries to do business deals as if everyone were friendly neighbors. They fail because they don't see that everyone is actually armed with knives at each others throats.

The cowboy who realizes that financial, social, and status threats are just as real as guns can use the experience of dealing with mexican standoffs to carve a path forwards, creating a culture where people can hate each other, yet still work together.