Wars are useful because they foster medical and technological breakthroughs.
I even know a few conservatives who contend that cigarette smoking plays an important role in American public life since smokers die before they can collect most of their Social Security benefits, which helps keep the system solvent. But none of this changes the fact that silver linings only come on dark clouds. If there is a pony in Florida, it's very small and the pile of pony chad is huge. That's pretty good with wars around the world. I think America is a shining city on a hill, but surely, we can set our standards a notch or two above blood in the streets.