I think we fight because basically not enough people are standing up saying, "I'm not doing this anymore."
At church, school, and home children are taught from an early age that it is wrong to hurt (and certainly to kill) others. For this reason, most children have one of their earliest logical dilemmas when these same teachers attempt to explain the necessity of war. There are many different methods but nearly all attempts at an explanation end with the words "...to defend our freedom." This certainly was a valid reason in 1776 and a few other times in our country's 235 year history, but it is becoming quite a stretch. The United States' constant state of war for the past fifty years has had very little to do with defending your freedom to worship, speak, or live the way you wish.
World War II was a turning point in history not only because the world stood up to the axis of evil, but also because it showed many people just how profitable war could be. Since then, the military-industrial complex has entrenched itself in our country to an extent that every congressional district depends on it in some way for economic stability. For this reason, it is to our advantage to remain at war. That may sound like a pretty bold statement, but it is not really a controversial one, simply one that a lot of wealthy people would rather you not dwell on. As we move further away from the end of the draft, this will only intensify as there will be very few people in leadership positions that actually have any idea what it is like to serve in the military or have family members who serve.
As long as we blindly support war through our votes, our military, and our 401k's, we will be stuck with it, but don't kid yourselves... War has nothing to do with freedom, for us, or for the poor countries we invade...
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