I discovered the quote below whlilst trolling through a large number of blogs. I have lost the citation.
But it is credited to J.S. Mill.
Sometimes folks who have experienced what I will call the horrors of war will declare that nothing is worth another war.
These folks have seen things that no one should have to see and for them, nothing justifies what is required of participants in what we call combat.
Well, having had a discussion with just such a person a few weeks ago, the following quote jumped out at me when I came across it.
File it away and use it when confronted by someone who argues against US projection of force.
It will not defend against arguments against an ill-conceived war or an unjust war. But it does the job against one that is ... shall I say, arguably necessary to prevent....dare I say...a greater evil.
"War is an ugly thing," John Stuart Mill wrote, "but not the ugliest of things." Far uglier, he wrote, is the feeling that nothing in life is worth fighting for. World War II was fought for several reasons but above all -- and proudly -- because the only way to stop the killing was to stop the killers.
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I have seen this quote from Mill before. They are really good words. I had it posted in my office, prominently on my bulletin board for many months. There were interesting reactions!
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