Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that war can "educate the senses, call into action the will, and perfect the physical constitution."

I'm sure this horrified many of the abolitionists, at least those that thought that slavery could and should be ended without a clash of arms.

He was quoted soon after the first battles of the Civil War as saying, "Ah! Sometimes gunpowder smells good."

This also brings to mind the story of the lady that once said to a famous concert pianist, "What beautiful music! I'd give my life to be able to play the way you do."

The musician smiled, and replied, " I did."

To really and truly want something means also wanting to pay the price it takes to get it. If you're not willing to spend the time, the "blood, sweat, and tears," to actually earn your goal, be it that new car, that trim, fit, bod, your own business, or world peace, then you just would like to have it.

If you truly wish to have a peaceful, progressive, free, world, then you also have to be willing to pay the price that requires.