The poisoning of former Russian officer Sergei Skripal in England is an illustration of the single biggest failure of the modern world: the disregard of standards.
The case is unfortunate but there is an international agreement to resolve such issues — The Chemical Weapons Convention. As long as the agreement is followed we needn’t descend into bickering and arguing. However, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has unilaterally abrogated this standard, refusing to give Russia a sample of the (alleged) nerve agent, as the agreement requires and demanding a response (to what, one might ask) within 24 hours, instead of the legally mandated 10 days.
Does anyone respect standards today? We allow Wall Street swindlers to operate outside the law without any legal consequences. We invade countries without U.N. authorization — in defiance of it, actually. We accuse and convict in the press without facts (“Russiagate,” #MeToo) and ask for no justice for actual, documented election fraud (meddling of the Democratic National Committee). The degradation of standards is America’s prominent feature today. Someday, you’ll have to explain this to your children.
