We're all pretending; that's what events like this are all about. "Why are we doing it at all?" "To fit it. Better that we be there to be spoken to t… - Karl Schroeder

It's not that simple.
Ah! That phrase is Male for 'I'm afraid to.'

What if they don't surrender?
My Lady, he said, you never ask that question after you've gone to war.

So why did you do it?
August stared at the ceiling pensively. "It gets easier to risk your life as you get older. I think women understand that when they have children. Suddenly they know they would give their life for their child, and it doesn't bother them. With men it's different, but we…trade our allegiance in the same way. At some point, if you've grown up at all, you have to decide that something outside yourself is more important than you are. Otherwise you'll be a miserable bastard, and you'll die screaming." He closed one eye and peered at Jordan. "That make sense?"
"I don't know," Jordan said uncomfortably.
"You get perspective. You can stand outside your own death, a little. Not while you're dying, though."