What is it good for? - Harrison Broyles

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

There is a time for war. While a last resort, sometimes positive change is most effective through violence where social dominion may fail. Take the Civil War- while it was insanely bloody, it spurred about the end of slavery- something that wasn't set to happen anytime soon under current social conditions at the time. Revolutions around the world have signaled the end of tyranny in favor of democracy, the end of kings and the birth of power to the people. The French Revolution was another prime example of this- the slaughtering of the aristocratic class ended all possibility of a monarchy ever returning to France, and turned the current class system on its head (literally).

However, war must be justified. Senseless killing is not ok, and should not be condoned in any fashion. It must be a final option- you have exhausted all other possible outcomes, and have made every reasonable attempt at a solution. You must also have a very good reason- you may not go to war with someone because you "think" they "may" be "scheming" something in a "factory" that's a "weapon of terror or mass destruction". No, you need proof, and at the end of the day, you need to be able to look yourself in the mirror without a morsel of doubt that it was the right decision, and that every death, dollar spent, and person wounded was absolutely necessary- because if you go to war, that burden falls on you.