It’s not the 60’s anymore.
That is an old argument, and an out-dated one.
In the late-1960s, the Progressives--the people who let their kids cut school, do drugs, and smash up cars--used to say it's not the 1950s anymore. That was to justify their own self-indulgence. After all, they were ignoring their kids and doing drugs themselves.
My comment was to point out the difference between a sane society and one in the throws of civil war, and to underline who was acting according to sane principles. The tactical, prudential advice we might offer the characters in this instance is another matter--and a study in itself.