I noted a somewhat faded bumper sticker the other day: “War Is Not The Answer”. Seems a bit simplistic to me. Whether or not war is the answer depends on the question, doesn’t it?
Not the answer to:
How much is 2 + 2?
Should partial birth abortion be legal?
How should one treat a plantar wart?
Probably is the answer to:
What should be done about ISIS?
I feel sorry for anyone who believes that there is nothing for which it is worth fighting, killing and possibly dying. Such are the “Better Red Than Dead” crowd of my youth. Such people seem to be claiming the moral high ground when they are really just looking out for Number One.
Clearly, war was indeed the answer to many problems or questions. It’s in the history books. Some wars were indeed Really Bad Ideas. But others had to be fought, no question about it.
I don’t know where I’m going with this. The bumper sticker just struck me as expressing a really silly, sad sentiment. It is foolish to believe that, because sometimes war is not the answer, that war is never the answer.