Excellent point from a reader:
What’s more amusing and lost in this whole quotation thing is the point of the episode (at least I think I’m remembering correctly here). The plot was classic “good vs evil” where the good side (Lincoln, Kirk et al) were pitted against evil (Genghis Khan, other non-specific aliens). The aliens who set up the confrontation were skeptical of the difference — in the end they saw a difference and didn’t destroy the Enterprise. It’s exactly the wrong example for the anti-war crowd.