A headline in today’s Seattle Times portrays the challenge: “Putin takeover signals a different kind of ‘Cold War.’” The Ukraine is threatened with loss of territory. Russians encroach on certain sections of that country, taking advantage of the confusion in the Ukraine after a corrupt leader was overthrown.

Russia’s Putin appears only one of many neo dictators, snatching a country back into the age of baronial privilege, in which favored elites rob the country of its wealth and ignore wishes of the majority. Ancient tribal hatreds threaten Libya. Egypt seems turned back toward another military government. South Sudan is again wracked by mayhem. Atrocities by a ruling minority group in Syria rival those of the Holocaust.

The headline, however, should remind us that we survived decades of that first, nuclear-threatening Cold War. We made mistakes, including ill-chosen wars of choice. However, we avoided a massive conflict  with the Soviet Union. We waited through a period of dictatorships while we probed diplomatic opportunities. We grew our economy and created a vibrant middle class. And eventually our patience was rewarded.

Years ago, one of our politicians said that our nation’s differences stop at our shore. We can choose emotional, knee-jerk reactions to these crises or we can choose patience, well-considered responses, and a spirit of cooperation, both among our political parties and with our allies.