The following might be considered OOC. Don't read if you are an exceptionally puckered, boring, or stupid person.
What is this game for, if not to try your hand at taking advantage of the slightly-meeker? How else does one get ahead? What fun is there in managing improvements and carefully timing bill-pays and tax collection?
Tech raids and wars are the only thing that keep this game interesting. Nobody has a legitimate reason for a fight in this game, so wreck stuff. Have fun. Make your neighbors angry and defend against retaliation. If you joined CN to play a slow and peaceful nation building game, you might be better off playing H&R TaxCut instead. Remove all the strawberries from your oatmeal, as they may prove too stimulating for your delicate palate.
All the Pants-'poop'ers should relax and try starting a war of their own once in a while. It's profitable and makes the game more interesting for everybody.
IC: If you feel so strongly about this issue, do something about it. I have no defensive wars.