As a little boy I was raised on war. G.I. Joe's (a real American hero) struggle against Cobra (a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world), Autobots versus Decepticons, Voltron's endless battle, He-Man's defense of Eternia and the Thundercats' of Thundara. My father never served in the military and, as he was of military age during Vietnam, was very glad for that fact. Both my grandfathers, may they rest in peace, did, but neither ever talked about it. Grandpa Little was an infantryman in the Pacific. He was an ordinary man who witnessed and carried out unspeakable deeds; I cannot blame him for not desiring to walk down that particular sidestreet of Memory Lane. I have never had a serious desire to serve in the military. I have always said this is because I do not believe I would respond well to the discipline (which is true), but secretly I suspect it is because I am a coward. I wish to neither kill nor die for my country, love it dearly though I do. Yet despite my own cowardice, and in a nation with an all volunteer military all of us who do not serve are cowards, I have always favored and argued for an adventurous and interventionalist foreign policy. On Wednesday night, the policy I have always desired will be put into effect in the skies over Iraq. Right and proper though it may be, it is a terrible thing to send men into battle against each other. To temper my boyish enthusiasm for war, I find it invaluable to turn to the timeless wisdom of Wilfred Owen. I highly suggest that each and every one of you read his masterpiece, "Dulce Et Decorum Est." Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

Another piece of wisdom to contemplate (from, I believe, Cicero): Inter arma enim silent legis.