The Road To War, Especially In Modern Times, Is One Of Tragedy Instead Of Triumph. There Is No Glory

The Road to War, especially in modern times, is one of tragedy instead of triumph. There is no glory in the effort, only horrific waste, atrocity, and suffering. The lives lost, the destroyed futures and potentials of what could be, these are the melancholy thoughts that weigh on people like Theodon when he rides to war with the rest of Rohan. I’ve heard it said that one of Tolkien’s favorite passage was the one of The Witch King of Angmar entering Minas Tirith. The moment of hopelessness and overwhelming despair gives way to the coming of the dawn; no matter how dark the night or how evil the storm, the darkness will be undone, but it will not be cast away solely by inaction or submission to its will, you need to stand against the storm, to ride out and face it, so that the sun will shine for another day perhaps even if you may not live to see it.

“And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the city, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of war nor of wizardry, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing.

Rohan had come at last.” (Link)

Should you ever ride to war, take heart if it is in service of a cause or a people that only wish to be free or live in peace. The world we share today is smarter, healthier, and more connected than ever because the decrease in war, sickness, and ignorance. I’m not sure if that fight will ever be done and if we will see the end to war, but it our duty to do what we can to preserve and expand the work of those that came before us for the betterment of mankind, and face down and roll back those who would for their own reasons rather see the hard won progress of the last century undone. Hope always for peace, save war as the last resort, but be ready to fight to protect the things you cherish most in order to ensure their survival to the future.

I feel like people miss the point of the "war is bad" message

What it's supposed to mean is that war is terrible, it's destructive, it ruins lives, it leaves scars, and you should only partake in it when there are no other options, because even if you win, even if you survive, you will not be the same, which is why the phrase used to be more commonly known as "war is hell"

But "war is bad" seems to have been construed by people in fandom into "any fighting is bad, if you fight you're morally terrible and impure, you should not fight at all, no matter what", this is annoying in fandom, as it often misses the point fiction is trying to make, but what's worrisome is when people apply this to real life, as I have seen people do regarding russia's invasion of Ukraine

And that's almost never the point of "War is Bad" works

Works like Lord of the Rings, Avatar The Last Airbender, Transformers, The Clone Wars, Halo (especially Reach), etc all have themes on how horrible war is, but they categorically do not say it is wrong to fight, what they say is usually along the lines of "war is terrible, and what makes it so terrible is that we have no choice but to fight, it would be ideal if we didn't have to fight at all, but we must fight, because not fighting is not an option, because not fighting, not opposing tyranny, conquest, and evil only allows those things to exist unimpeded"