When A Good Man Goes to War

"Demons run when a good man goes to war
Night will fall and drown the sun
When a good man goes to war
Friendship dies and true love lies
Night will fall and the dark will rise
When a good man goes to war
Demons run, but count the cost
The battle's won, but the child is lost." (Doctor Who)

Despite having many opinions on things, there are several topics that I rarely want to take a stand on. War is one of them- who am I to tell other people that their taxes should go towards something they may be morally against? Who am I to tell other people that I believe their children should put their lives in danger? 

I have two cousins in the United State Navy. One of whom is currently deployed and will most certainly end up in Syria should we declare war, and I'm positive the other would be there in a heartbeat. Both of whom have become fathers for the first time this year. 

And yet...even knowing all that and keeping it in my heart and in my mind daily, I find myself ready to make a statement:

The United States should go into Syria. 

Honestly, this is the best excuse we have had to go to war since the American Revolution. Nearly every war in our history has been entered into for resources or because some country "made it personal."

We should have entered into World War II sooner. We knew people were dying in horrific ways and we knew the potential for it expanding. Still, in an attempt to not abuse the power of the United States, there was no action, no support, until Pearl Harbor- and the Japanese cutting off one of our oil supplies. 

Today, we still have power and the ability to intimidate with our military. But we also have the opportunity to prevent a catastrophic event. 

Chemical warfare has always been the "no-no." It cannot be ignored, and we should not ignore it. 

This isn't like the supposed weapons of mass destruction that was used as an excuse to go into Afghanistan. This is real people dying in a way that can barely be controlled. There is far too much room for error, and far too many people who would abuse chemical warfare being ignored.

This is where war changes, forever. If there is no retaliation this will escalate. There is no way to prevent a third World War- but I do not believe this will be the cause. I believe this will deter it and save millions of civilian lives.