In Charles Krauthammer’s recent book, “Things That Matter”, he makes a statement in his essay on Democratic Realism that hit a point with me: “It’s not one man; it is a condition” (p. 349).

You would need to read the essay itself to gain full contextual understanding but, in the shell of a nut, it is his view of the major threat we face today with what most honest folk call radical Islam.

I would extend this however to say that perhaps it has always been thus.  One man may cause or advance a condition but it is a condition nonetheless.  How else to be able to turn your head to an Auschwitz or the Great Purge?  It may have been borne of fear and not simple acquiescence but, like a virus that brings on the flu, it leads to a condition in eventuality.  And conditions can be changed albeit not just by the simple removal of the one man.

A virus needs a host cell to work its dastardly doings on that very same host.  Does this sound familiar to those among you with even the slightest knowledge of history?  No host, no problem.  Except, that is, for the virus.

And, yes, most often the host is unaware of what is happening but it still tries to fight it off to a degree.  At least initially and even later if it is not fully overcome.  It can happen, it does happen as most of the time we do have a good chance of getting well.

Still, the virus can spread and often does spread to many others.  It has to in order to survive.

The best defense then seems to be to make sure the host is healthy at the base levels.  And also for the host to do its level best to avoid situations and conditions conducive to the potential invader.  Eat your veggies, drink your milk, get sleep, exercise, wash your hands thoroughly and often, be careful of what you touch and who you hang out with in close quarters.  Most of us know this at a young age.

But sometimes it is easy to forget or maybe we just get lazy. Vigilance is important here.  Be ever vigilant and practice good hygiene.

Okay, enough of the medical analogy.  You’re all mostly smart so you probably get it.

What I wanted to get to here was the condition part.

What is our condition?  What is any one person’s or one country’s condition?  I believe condition is what matters most for without it I don’t think that one man could do much damage.

That is unless he is trying to change that condition and make it more conducive to the infection.

Who could possibly want to do something like that?  Do you know anyone like that?

I suppose that history is full of such examples and I suppose that some were successful and some were not.

It was the condition that mattered most.