Woodrow Wilson would have delivered his 14 points with the following opening lines:
We are poised to stand against aggressions that have the capacity to destabilize key regions around the world.
A destabilized region has the potential to create heightened levels of political instability, unrest, interstate conflict, etc. State failures are not contagious however, some of their negative consequences can spread to other states. Hence, we have taken up the responsibility to prevent that from happening.
