Dana Gould: Hey guys, I was just not remembering Rush and not remembering how influential he was and not remembering how much I hated him.
Everyone: Yeah, I don’t even remember that he made millions of dollars and I’m not even remembering the exact cemetery that he was buried in. Yay, I’m glad we’re all not remembering this.
I think your premise is wrong. It’s more plausible that because war is beneficial for the 1 percent, that this song and dance of political theater is purely to keep you and I entertained and in line.
Or we could go with your idea that Putin thought it was a good idea to piss off the most powerful nations because he wanted to conquer some land. He was like A) I could peacefully hang out on my massive yacht or B) become enemies with a country that is notorious for stealth drone strikes.