It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it. — Robert E. Lee

My Take – Let’s face it, I go out to Fort Knox to help with training because it’s fun.  Yes, it’s a good cause, and I hope that I’m doing my part to help the soldiers accomplish their mission and come home safe, but it’s a heck of a good time.  Our culture does an excellent job pointing out the cool and glorious part of war.  But whether I’m watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster or playing Jihad Joe in the wilds of Kentuckistan, I have to remember that there is another side to that coin.  War can shatter bodies, minds, and souls.  One need only to read a diary from the Civil War, watch footage from Vietnam, or read the blogs of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to see the cost of sending young men and women out to enforce our national will.  We must balance the desire for glory and history with the knowledge of what the pursuit of these things will lead to.