Dear Editor: Partisan Politics is Making War Inevitable

Dear Editor,

The Koopmans came to America in 1910, in the steerage section of a ship headed for Ellis Island. Grandpa was a man of peace, seeking peace. He wanted no part of Prussian militarism and "the Kaiser's wars." So he packed up four kids and a wife, and three generations later, the Koopmans are still seeking peace, not war. I guess I have it in my blood.

Pop would often say, "The Democrats are the war party." Even as a kid, that stuck in my head, and probably had a lot to do with me becoming a Republican. But Dad was wrong. There are two war parties. It just depends on which party is in...