Some thoughts that are shorter and pithier than Leo Tolstoy’s book:
“Peace is not the absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition of benevolence, confidence, justice.” -Baruch Spinoza
“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Not necessarily war related but so often overlooked by the peacemakers as well as the war hawks:
“If you don’t take the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?” – Former Advanced Inorganic Professor
“Begin with the end in mind” – Stephen Covey
Filed under: General | Tagged: Covey, peace, Spinoza, Tolkien, war |
The Confluence 
I don’t consider myself a hawk or a dove: I don’t believe reality can be squeezed into either category. Instead, I go where my analysis of the evidence (which may be faulty, but ultimately we all have trust our own judgement) leads me. So I was a dove on Vietnam, Panama and W’s invasion of Iraq, and a hawk on Yugoslavia, Rwanda (but no one in power was), Afghanistan (initially, when our goal was to get the people who attacked us on 9/11), and currently on stopping ISIS in Iraq. On Syria and Libya my views were mixed, but I felt if we were going to act we needed to act quickly and heavily (my understanding of Hillary’s views, but not Obama’s). In any case, one size does not fit all.
If you don’t take the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?” – Former Advanced Inorganic Professor
My favorite of the quotes above.