Symbols are important to any society, they help individuals visualize the common values that draw people together. In our society we have a host of symbols that represent various aspects of what it is to be American.

We have many symbols that we recognize as embodying our national ethos. Some are official ones that have been adopted by our government and some are unofficial ones that we have adopted in a piecemeal manner and changed to fit our own perceptions. The western gunslinger, an independent man who takes on the corrupt and the evil, is an unofficial symbol created in Hollywood but recognized throughout the country is one such symbol.

Many years ago, even before the United States Constitution was written, John Hanson oversaw the adoption of the Great Seal of the United States of America. On that seal is an eagle clutching in the right foot an olive branch and in the left a bunch of arrows.

The olive branch itself is a symbol, representing peace. Perhaps it came to represent peace because of the story of Noah releasing the dove which came back with an olive branch showing that the water had subsided after the Biblical flood.

The arrows symbolize war. During discussions Francis Hopkinson, who did much of the design work on the seal, proposed having one of two figures support a shield, one a "naked savage" with a bow and arrow in his hands with a quiver of arrows on his back. The design eventually chosen did away with the two figures but kept the symbols they represented.

In heraldry the left side is subordinate to the right side so the committee had the eagle face the right, the side with the olive branch, reinforcing the idea that peace was the more desirable condition.

As a country we have demonstrated that we abhor war over and over again. During the 19th century we were a growing country, interested more in spreading west than involving ourselves in international affairs and the wars that inevitably follow such involvement. We were hesitant to get involved in both of the great wars of the 20th century and we have never had a war that wasn't protested by at least some of our fellow citizens.

As much as we as a people dislike war there are times when war is the least undesirable condition. Faced with invasion there are few who would say it would be best to capitulate to the invaders. Faced with an aggressor who attacks an important ally most would agree to send military assistance, including fighting troops to help them.

There are those who would object to any use of military force for any reason. That is their right and they can spread their message by any appropriate means. They are a very small minority however.

There are those who object to some wars because they don't feel the level of provocation has exceeded some bounds they have set. Again, this is an honorable position and one that should cause no one to attach any opprobrium to those holding this view.

The problem comes when people object to a war for less than honorable reasons. Many today object to the war in Iraq because of partisan politics, not any deeply held moral objections to war itself. These people didn't object to President Bill Clinton bombing Serbia even though Slobodan Milosevic had never threatened another country with invasion or weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations didn't approve the war any more than it has for the Iraq war. The ethnic cleansing that got the Clintonistas so incensed wasn't even that noteworthy next to such examples as the genocides in Rwanda and Sudan.

These are the same people who excoriate President George W. Bush because he invaded Iraq, which has invaded other countries and has actually USED WMDs. If people are going to set a standard it should be one that is applied to all sides equally, and not designed to favor one side over the other.

It is better to live in peace, but not infinitely so. Remember the symbol of the eagle, which favors peace but keeps the means to prosecute a war always ready.