Whenever war or geopolitical tensions spark jingoistic fervor, there are always efforts by certain factions to try to stamp out dissent, flatten nuance and historical context into a simple black-and-white narrative, and use the moment to settle scores and advance their careers.

The last time we in the West lived through this was a little over twenty years ago, when outrage over the September 11 atrocity quickly led to a militaristic climate in which only the most extreme and reckless military responses were given a platform. The luckiest of those who objected, or who counseled calm, caution, and peaceful solutions, were mocked and ignored. The less lucky were called traitors and terrorist sympathizers, even terrorists themselves, and accused of disloyalty and hurting the country, as the president warned that you were either “with us, or you are with the terrorists.”

Those who deviated in any way from the approved line — including any who inquired into the motives of the terrorists and their supporters — were accused of “rationalizing support for these hate-filled fanatics,” of spreading their propaganda, of being one of the “appeasers,” and they were attacked, censored, even fired. Right-wing columnists cheered that “the portions of the left that oppose [military action] will go the way of the America Firsters during the last war.”