No, I'm not a pacifist but as I grow older, I more clearly see the futility of conflict. Here in the south, it's been a part of our culture to protect and defend home, family, neighbor and nation. I still have no problem with that basic premise. Call it the exuberance of youth versus the caution of maturity, but I have no desire to see people go off into a fight that might be resolved by other means. It may be a case of living and learning as we go along. In "Gone With the Wind", the character Ashley Wilkes says that most of the world's suffering was caused by war and when the wars were over, no one knew what they were all about.(paraphrase). Perhaps he was right.
That's very true. I always tell my son that defending yourself and your home is one thing, but never go off to war unless you know exactly what you're fighting for. You could kill people or end up dead for nothing all because some politician didn't practice diplomacy or know what they were doing. War is very scary and a lot of people die on both sides and like you say not many people really understand it.
Benedict Arnold 