War: The Real Twilight Zone

Love your country because it is eminently worthy of your affection. Respect it because it deserves your respect. Be loyal to it because it cannot survive without your loyalty. But do not accept the shedding of blood as a natural function or a prescribed way of history... Read More—even if history points this up by its repetition. That men die for causes does not necessarily sanctify that cause...that men are maimed and torn to pieces every fifteen and twenty years does not immortalize or deify the act of war. Are you tough enough...to try to build a world in which young men can live out their lives in fruitful pursuit of a decent, enriching consummation of both his talents and his hopes? ...If survival calls for the bearing of arms—bear them, you must. As we all have. Keep in mind only this—that province of combat is not the end—it is simply the means. And the most essential part of the challenge is for you to find another means that does not come with the killing of your fellow-man.

–Rod Serling (1924-1975), decorated WWII veteran, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division