[Homer_J_Simpson]

Kind of long, but worth it, I believe.

Between the peace-at-any-price man and the peace-no-matter-what-it-costs man there is a great gulf fixed.

I like that sentence.

[widowithfoursons]

Just can't seem to wrap myself up in his thought process. He doesn't seem to come to a real conclusion in his own mind. OTH, why should he?

[My2Cents]

Much of this article wouldn't sit well with my Quaker friends, but I think their pacifism stems from doctrinal errors about man and God's redemption of man. Jesus said that there will always be wars and rumors of war, until His return. What is worse? -- Believing in something strongly enough that the society affirms those beliefs are worth fighting for (in our western society, these things would be to defend freedom, liberation for the oppressed, and the overthrow of the tyrant), or avoiding war because one does not believe there is anything worth fighting for? Victor Davis Hanson has eloquently written that it is part of western civilization that overwhelming force brought against darkness, tyrany, and evil (concepts accepted in classical western civilization) to completely eradicate those forces, is really the only civilized thing to do.

[My2Cents]

Addendum...

Those who say there isn't anything worth fighting for also tend to be the same people who see equivalency in all cultures and societies. Hence, there is no "right" or "wrong" society, only "diversity" of opinion. The inability to distinguish evil from good, and then the failure to fight evil in the world, is actually more dangerous than a policy of "pre-emption" in fighting evil.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

I agree. VERY much worth the read. Thanks!!

BTTT

[LiteKeeper]

bump

[AmericaUnited]

This little snippet from Romans 13 seems like an interesting verse to throw out in this post.

13:3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 13:4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

Paul is saying that God uses the sword of authories to punish "evil doers".

[Castlebar]

The tragedy of this essay is that it holds up World War One as a sacred crusade. That'a a very unfunny joke. The U.S entered that war against its own interest, on a side which had no moral superiority to the other; we probably prolonged thw war, got 116,000 of our men killed for nothing, and a similar number came back crippled or blind from chlorine and mustard gas, all to make the world MORE likely to do the same damn thing again in the next generation.

I certainly welcome the meditation in a general sense, but the choice of application bears against the main purpose of the essay.