The quote highlights the dual nature of government, portraying it as often performative and insubstantial when it isn't engaged in outright violence or warfare. It points to the idea that governmental authority can seem hollow in times of peace or normalcy.
Further, the mention of "murder in the dark" and "soldiers in the open" suggests that true impact and seriousness arise from darker actions and overt displays of power, emphasizing the grim realities behind governance and the consequences of its exercise, as explored in Orson Scott Card's novel Pathfinder.