I came across a passage in the book about Spinoza that I have:

We are naturally prey to uncertainty and fear...We may then welcome slavery as the end of fear and conflict, not realizing that 'peace is more than the mere absence of war, but rather a virtue which springs from the fortitude of the soul' (P v, 4); however, 'if slavery, barbarism and desolation are to be called peace, peace is the greatest misfortune that men can suffer' (P vi, 4).

Just a thought for our time.