***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello,
1. You know what a pendulum is. Right?
2. Well, in politics, we say that if the pendulum goes to the far right, then it will swing back to the far left.
a. For example, when I was a child, school discipline was pretty far to the right. That is, the teacher could swat (hit) us when
we were naughty. One day when I was about 12, I threw a rock. The teacher ordered me to bend over. He then used a
board to hit my buttocks. I have never thrown a rock again (I'm 75 years old). The pendulum, however, has now swung to
the far left. That is, it is now almost impossible in many American schools to use any kind of physical punishment, In fact, the
word "punishment" is forbidden.
*****
Thus, regarding your example:
Let's say that country X intervened in the problems of country Y. Let's say that country X lost many soldiers. But let's say that the leader of country X says, "It is our duty to intervene anywhere at any time for any reason."
Well, maybe when country X gets a new leader, that new leader will say: We intervened and lost many soldiers.
So I have decided that we will never intervene again for any reason at any time. Do you see how the pendlum swung
from one extreme to another extreme?
James