Jeff Jacoby writes a letter to his six-year old son. It explains concepts that many adults need to learn. And it is an incredible piece -- read it all.
"In kindergarten right now, you and your classmates are preparing for Passover. You are learning about the bitter enslavement of the Israelites and the cruelty of the Egyptians, and about the great leader named Moses, who refused to look the other way when he came across acts of injustice. Once again you are hearing the story of Shifra and Puah, the Hebrew midwives who bravely defied Pharaoh's command to drown every newborn Hebrew boy.
"The lesson I hope you are gradually internalizing is that when victims are suffering, those who can rescue them have an obligation to do so. 'Do not stand aloof from the blood of your neighbor,' commands the Bible in Leviticus 19:16. When someone is in a desperate predicament, you must help if you can. And sometimes the only way to help is through fighting and bloodshed. Awful as war is, the alternative can be even worse."