There is a room at Versailles that is supposed to depict the history of France and struck me that every painting is about a war. It’s interesting that the entire history of a country can be captured in a history of the battles in which it has fought. As I walked through the halls I found myself recalling the wall around the Red Cross Museum with it’s listing of all the conflicts and wars every year since its inception. Here was an even longer depiction with the same theme; only this time it was about defining a nation, not demonstrating how necessary humanitarian aid and medical care are. This time it was celebrating the Kings, Saints, Popes, Generals and yes even the “Emperor” Napoleon himself (with George Washington thrown in to represent the French help in the revolution and their “unwavering commitment to freedom around the globe”). I am not trying to be critical of France or the French, in fact I am more appreciative than I ever had been for the contributions of the French to the world, but it saddens me that war is how we tell our histories and how we define ourselves. I did appreciate that beneath each massive painting was a photograph or some story depicting a more recent conflict and pointing to the paradox of war and peace, the atrocities of hate and to the continuing struggles in the world. I guess I prefer a history that does not deny war, but focuses rather on the results. I am reminded of a famous painting of the American Revolution that depicts not a scene of conflict, but rather a signing of the Treaty of Versailles which recognized the sovereignty and independence of the United States or of the signing of the Declaration of Independence which lead to the Treaty of Versailles. We can not forget the brave people who fought for the ideals of their nations (on both sides of every conflict), but we also must remember what they fought to achieve; otherwise all that war is even more tragic than war in general already is. I for one have had enough of wars.