Allan,
It says we are a nation of warriors. We won our independence in a war, preserved it in another (1812), had our selves a hell (literally) of a civil war in "The War of Northern Aggression", fought in two World Wars (that we could have sat out) because it seemed the right thing to do and lost a half million men in WWII alone, fought wars in Korea and Viet Nam for ... ? not to mention a host of minor wars and let's not forget the systematic annihilation of the native population. America is the most violent society in the world. But most of us are pretty darn friendly , too, despite our flag-waving, beer drinkin', gun owning, ass kicking tendencies. Peace.