Original:
Iranian boats attempt to seize British tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Violent aggression lies at the foundation of the State. Any State, however good it is at dressing itself up in philosophical verbiage. It is entirely dependent upon it. If you disagree simply consistently refuse to pay tribune (they call it 'tax') to your State of choice and wait for your armed reality check to eventually visit. Keep going and you can experience the thrill of armed conflict for yourself.
War, whatever form it takes, is simply the logical extension of this underlying reality. We're conditioned to oppression via the extortion of our property so some may be inclined to believe it is 'natural'. Conflicts of interest are, of course, an inevitable part of life. From squabbles as children on up. We've all learnt to resolve them in one way or another. Distinguishing between your interests and those of people who have much to gain from widespread conflict is, I suggest, an important issue to contemplate, unless you wish to live in complete ignorance.
There is no reason to believe that the violent and aggressive bully that demands tribune from you is operating in your best interests when it utilizes the resources of destruction that you have equipped it with to conjure up conflict elsewhere. This is as true, of course, for the people of Iran as much as for the US, UK or almost anywhere else you could care to mention.
When these States knock up against each other, discerning all the minutiae of the latest contrivances is unnecessary for you to make a determination. The investigative journalists, diplomats, spies, conspiracy theorists etc. will do their thing, well intended or otherwise, but it's frankly absurd for you, me or the vast majority of people to sift through all the nuances of international relations and honestly expect to have a clear grasp of the entire landscape. We need to understand what lies at the heart of it all, in our own experience.
Neither an Iranian, Venezuelan nor Russian has ever attempted to extort me personally. If I gave them the opportunity, perhaps they would, but you have to deal with the problems in front of you, not those that have been manufactured by your local Statist spokespeople for the extension of their power and 'authority'. If I were to move to any of those countries I expect the Statist officials would be quick to ensure I paid their form of tribune. That is a problem. But it's not one that's going to be solved by taking sides in a game of who can be the most violently aggressive entity on the larger stage of world affairs.