With the recent response from North Korea regarding its cyber-attack on Sony over the controversial movie The Interview, the United States’ plan of action is to place a new sanction cutting off all international financial ties between the world and the already suffering country.

The economic sanction was imposed on North Korean government agencies because of their alleged involvement in the hacking of Sony Pictures and the overall threat they imposed on casual moviegoers looking to possibly get a laugh.

“Today’s actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct,” said Treasury secretary Jack Lew.

The United States has never before reacted to a crime like this with sanctions, partially because of the fact that something similar to this has never really happened. North Korea reacted to what they believed to be a threat. It is clear that the North Korean government may be corrupt, so why is the United States pushing to further punish a country that is already suffering? So many are already suffering through fault that is not their own, but their government’s.

The Associated Press says that the new sanctions “will affect three North Korean entities, including a government intelligence agency and a North Korean arms dealer. The U.S. is also sanctioning 10 individuals who work for those entities or the North Korean government.”

North Korea’s money is also being stripped away in a country already so bare. In doing so, it is accurate that a message to North Korean officials would be sent, but to tell ourselves that this is benefiting humanity would be a lie.

The United States has power that can be used to benefit just the United States or to benefit the whole world. It is not hard to see that North Korea’s people are suffering. We should not use our power to prove a point by adding additional sanctions.

In a country where the citizens cannot provide food for themselves, the ultimate goal should be to guide the country in the right direction, not to watch or aid its further destruction.

Our natural tendency, as a country, is to react strongly and with conviction, and that is what we did by adding the sanctions as a response to the North Korean “attack.” As frustrating as it is for something we thought of as an innocent form of entertainment to be ripped away from us, a country that is weak, feels weak, and is looked at as weak by the entire world, felt threatened by it. They did not want to be portrayed as weaker.

It may be hard to admit it, but they reacted in a manner consistent with their skewed belief system. Now, what’s our excuse?