There are people who will tell you that John and Tom never got along, but there’s others that will tell you there as close as brothers. Then, others will tell you they actually were brothers, and some will tell you they were cousins. And, in the end, it doesn’t matter.
Something happened between them — the truth about what it was or whether it was an intended slight has been lost to history. After that, one exacted vengeance on the other. Then John’s sons and Tom’s sons fought, using what the other’s father had done as the excuse. Time passed, and the Sons of John and the Sons of Tom continued their acts of retribution, one against the other. And in turn, the more recent crimes one against the other was used as reason for the righteousness of new violence. Decades and more.
“You can’t trust the Johnsons” or “The Tomsons are nothing but bloodthirsty barbarians” became the logic of the people. “Just look what they did and how many dead children are left behind!” was a frequent refrain among either side. A leader who attempted to talk of peace between the two families was quickly stripped of power — and sometimes stripped of life itself. “The only way we will have peace is to kill them all!” one side would say — it doesn’t matter which side said it first, because each said it at one time or another. Then the other would use that as proof that no peace could be made.
I have no solution. But I know that giving the Johnsons and the Tomsons more guns and bombs and bullets will only leave behind little Johnsons and Tomsons with new grudges.