Originally Posted by
CommanderFun
Well, unless the hypothetical elected official ran on a platform of "I am going to declare war on everyone" or something. But even then, you've got the minority (possibly even a majority if you take into account nonvoters) who didn't vote for this person. But the truth is, "war is hell". It's a cliched quote, but it's true. I look at war like I look at more personal uses of violence. If you're concerned with a fight being "clean", you shouldn't be fighting. If you're not prepared to pull the trigger, you shouldn't draw the gun. Trying to make war "tolerable" is what leads to wars that stretch on forever. Ideally, both winner and loser get taxed to such a point that they become willing to settle the disagreement that led to war in the first place at the peacemaking table. I tend to reference Star Trek too much, but the original series episode "A Taste of Armageddon" is an excellent example.