First, it was stupid (not ignorant) of me to say that everyone must give soldiers their thanks and respect. Of course no one is obligated to do or feel anything they don’t want to, especially when directed to do so by an anonymous stranger posting on the Internet. My opinion--and it is only that--, however, is that one of the first steps to ending war, is to recognize that the people who are poised at the front line are making a genuine sacrifice, and that sacrifice is being made not as ignorant pawns in someone else's game, but with full and clear understanding of what they are doing, having examined all possible moves.

After that, it is not enough for those of us who are not serving, to stand aside and offer our opinions on how the game should be played. If we are going to play the game, even if we are not going to play by the grandmasters' rules, we should be willing to make at least equivalent sacrifices to those being made bythe people already on the board. Suggesting that wars will end when soldiers stop fighting provides for heartwarming stories about combatants celebrating Christmas together on the Western Front. Actually stopping war will require the dissolution of centuries-old hatred and prejudices, massive improvements in education and economic opportunity, and instilling in the heart of every potential soldier a sense of hope--not the kind of hope that wins political campaigns, but rather the kind of hope that makes you want to be around in fifty years to see how the world turned out.

Dedication to such a program takes a similar sense of dedication and willingness to grapple with unforeseen dangers as does signing up at the US Army recruiters' office. If we want to move beyond the roles of soccer moms and little league dads yelling from the sidelines, though, I don’t see that we have much of a choice.