Now, that's what I'm talking about!

Here is my short list of the bad things in this world: conflict, poverty, suffering, ignorance, negative human environmental impact, boredom, stagnation, laziness, isolation, and apathy. (You could also add the lack of immortality, but what good would life be if all you had to look forward to were the above)

So, where do you want to go? I would suggest that you would want to go to the ideal world where all the bad would go away. So, how do we get there?

Liberals and conservatives have different ideas about the best way to achieve each of these goals, which DocBrain will explore over the coming weeks. What we need, however, is a more rational approach...a way to measure progress and to find the best way to go forward.

Take conflict, for example. And, in particular, military conflict.

Liberals believe that war is evil, that it is good for "absolutely nothing". History would suggest that this approach is wrong. Many wars have been fought over the centuries and civilization has moved ahead. Whether it is innovation of weapons, health care, transportation, or even fossil fuel rationing, indirect good has come from wars. Direct good in the beating back of forces that had led to more bad (see above operational definition of bad) also has occured from wars. Just think of the defeat of Nazi germany.

So, is war good? Maybe. It does clear the air, can move civilization ahead, and settles conflicts. But, war must be waged in a way that allows conflicts to be settled. This means that war must be looked at with the future in mind moreso than the present. The enemy must be won to our viewpoint or crushed beyond retaliation. A "kind war" that allows the enemy to regroup, innovate and develop new tactics and strategies is not forward thinking. War should be ruthless enough that we do not enter into it halfheartedly, and should be continued until the goals are reached. If there are no adversaries, there can be no conflict.