Going to war is never a simple choice and even in the most extreme circumstances the concensus regarding committing to a war has never been unanimous. We didn't throw off the chains of British colonial rule with unanimity and we didn't wake up on the morning of December 8, 1941 with 100% committment to war. The Revolution had a deeply divided group of colonials and World War II, although it came close to total, still had resistance to the war. Some folks will never find anything worth fighting for and when that opinion is deeply held, it should be respected. But, when the anti-war opinion is one espoused for protection of the individual, for political posturing, for avoidance of inconvenience or disuption in one's personal life, or for popular acceptance, then that position should be despised.
War is never easy. Losses are part of war and the inability to forecast what tomorrow or even the next second will bring to the battlefield is not a simple cliche about the "fog of war"--it is a reality. Are we winning "hearts and minds" in Iraq, in Saudi, on the Arab Street or even in central Europe? Yes. Are we alienating former allies, hardening prospective terrorists and destroying good will worldwide? Well, yes again.
The essential question is whether the balance is more of one than the other. Time will tell, but the goals enunciated by the President in his recent inaugural address seem well worth supporting. Arguing against the establishment of democracy to replace authoritarianism is pretty futile and supporting oppression over freedom is ludicrous.
Here's a quote that many fighter pilots I've known had engraved on plaques that hung in their offices and homes:
“War is an ugly thing, but it is not the ugliest of things; the decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is
worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to
fight, nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety, is a miserable
creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by better men
than himself.”
John Stuart Mill
1806-1873
1 comment:
well said, and well thought out. my misgivings are that the president and the cabinet seem not to have any doubts regarding the complex nature of war, and why it is usually a last-resort option rather than a "bring-them-on" commandeering attitutde. we must have things that we are willing to fight for- and in fighting for them, we must also seek to Preserve them where they already exist, as much as possible. it is true, however, that since we are already in war, we must push for its best possible results, rather than sit idly by.
Post a Comment