Putin's pointless war on Ukraine brings with it many unnecessary horrors, evils and angers. So much waste of every possible kind.
It also brings with it a big, hope-inducing display of unity among most of the rest of the world and, on a more personal level, a rather major shift in world view:
For my whole life, the thought of Russian military power has brought up images of unstoppable waves of tanks advancing across the whole horizon. An inhuman, endless force.
In a few short weeks, decades of parades and numbers melted away to reveal problems on every single level, including the touching realization that much (?) of that force does not want to fight a meaningless war against a neighbor.
For the first time in my life, Russia no longer feels like a super power. Putin can not get whatever he wants by decree and directing his military toward it. The Russian bear has no … paws?
The world is built by people no smarter than you are.
Things can change.
Hopefully for the better, once all is said and done.
But let us hope and work to make the path there as easy as possible.