I’m not against war. I thought I might be, at age 18, when draft registration was mandatory. I wrestled with my fears, and wondered if my reluctance to sign up (there was no draft in 1980, just registration) was driven by deep conviction, or just cowardice. I visited a draft counselor in hopes of clearing things up. I left the session even more confused. She asked "Are you against the idea of killing?" I thought I was. Then she followed up with "Do you eat meat?" This drove a sharp question mark into my psyche. I hadn’t thought of it that way. She kindly said there was no right answer, just please understand that this is the type of question that a review board would likely ask if I were to declare myself a Conscientious Objector. She continued with another: "If your family were attacked, and you had the means to kill the attacker, would you?" The question was actually a bit more graphic, but the point is clear: Are there boundaries? Even if I would prefer not to kill, would I do it under certain circumstances? At the time I was uncertain, and had the luxury of idealism, the freedom to entertain options. Now I am a father, and my response is immediate and unequivocal: If it would save my child from an aggressor, I could certainly kill. And I do eat meat, though others butcher it on my behalf.

British colonists revolted in the 1700’s, and drove a superior armed force back across the Atlantic. After the war, the upstarts framed one of the most beautiful founding documents ever written, as the basis of a new country, the United States of America.

I’m not against war, nor warlike actions. If nobody fights back, the bad guys keep on coming. I sincerely hope I would display the courage of Todd Beamer on 9/11 and "roll" shoulder to shoulder with him, even if that meant doing violence to some nasty example of my fellow man. I like to believe that I would have what it takes to surmount dire obstacles like General Washington faced with the continental army: freezing, without funds, little support anywhere (except from the French), warmed only by a right principle, fired by an ideal, and battling the foe. We enjoy a country and a lifestyle like no other in history, thanks to these real Patriots.

I’m not against war, if that’s what it takes, and I’m willing to help out where I can. To that end, I have some thoughts on the current war, the War on Terrorism. Considering strategy and tactics, it occurs to me that we first need to know who or what the enemy is, in order to prevail. What is terrorism? Webster’s definition 1: "use of terror and violence to intimidate, subjugate, etc., especially as a political weapon or policy." Terror is defined in the same dictionary as "intense fear" So our country is engaged in a war against fear, and against the use of fear to intimidate and subjugate. Sign me up.

The enemy is identified , how to defeat it? Sun-Tsu, the greatest military mind in history said: "Know thy adversary, Know Thyself". Does fear live in one country? In one evil dictator? What do we know about this foe? Where does fear take shelter? Can we cut off its supply lines? How widespread has it become? How committed to the campaign are we? Will we fight to the finish?

If we are driven by fear, have we then lost the war? If we use "terror and violence to intimidate and subjugate" have we become the enemy? Is it something we can kill "out there"?

I love my country. For the record, I had a decal of the American flag on my big American vehicle for years before 9/11 when it became fashionable again. I want us to win the war on terror. I am casting my lot with those who have faced this adversary successfully, like Thurman Fleet. Dr. Fleet named fear as the granddaddy of human evils, and taught a simple, profound course of study for mastering it: Concept-Therapy. He mapped out a route in clear, compelling terms that people could use in knowing themselves. He drew from the sciences, philosophies, and great teachings of all ages. He skipped the drama, dogma, and dictation, recognizing that self-mastery is a do-it-yourself proposition. Fleet was a warrior in his youth, awarded the DSC after serving in France during the Great War, "the war to end all wars". I have studied his work fairly extensively, and the only war he glorifies is the battle for self-knowledge. He calls it an undertaking "worthy of great soldiers". He states that outer conflicts have their roots in the greed and hatred nourished in individual minds, and that at their ultimate source is fear. Through an understanding of human personality, based on 7 universal principles, Fleet outlined a strategy for a winnable, sane, War on Terrorism, one that begins with personal decisions. He gleaned and polished the alchemy of the ages, and delivered, once again, the means of transmuting symbolic lead into gold, fear into faith, hate into love. He turned his warrior’s fortitude and determination toward the science and art of self-mastery, healing, and teaching. It could be summarized as "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." Somebody has to start it, why not me? Why not you? Why not us? That’s a noble field of battle. That’s a war worth fighting to the end. Let’s roll.