Have We Learned Any Lessons?

[QUINNSCOMMENTARY]

As John McCain recently said, only a fool or fraud talks tough or romantically about war. Yet, there seems to be constant war around the world.

We are afraid of war and rightly so of course, but that fear may actually lead us not away from but toward conflicts. In the last century, much of the world ignored the growing militarism of Japan, the growing power of Hitler and his message, the fascists in Italy and even the horror of post revolution Russia. Is it because we cannot comprehend such evil, or that our fear of war helps us to simply look the other way and hope the political rhetoric is just that, rhetoric. But of course it often is not only rhetoric, but rather setting the stage for a single person to acquire power on the back of some scapegoat and isn’t’ it plain old scary that millions of human beings can so easily be cajoled to follow this path, over and over throughout the centuries?

Is today any different? Are we guilty of not taking the rhetoric from the Middle East governments or Muslim leaders seriously? Is it just too hard to accept that the outspoken call for the destruction of non-Muslims, or America or of Israel is real? Who could have conceived the possibility of September 11, 2001 any more than December 7, 1941?

The Middle East may seem far away to many of us, but the rhetoric of hate is in our backyard and throughout Europe, often under the guise of religion.

As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal asked, have we learned the lessons of the last century? I fear not. We seem incapable of seeing what is before our eyes.

[Predator Prevention]

People have been asking similar questions of war since the first war was fought I'm sure. Seems to me the only thing of war that's ever learned is how to improve the weapons in which these wars are fought.

[K.Snyder]

To be defensive is to be aggressive in the eyes of peace...

The problem lies in the lack of knowledge of peace...Not in the knowledge of war...

People are all too often ready to name people a threat just because they're different...Preemptive is becoming far too comfortable for many and the people who don't question their duty within the armed service are to blame as much as anyone...

[Predator Prevention]

Originally Posted by K.Snyder

To be defensive is to be aggressive in the eyes of peace...

The problem lies in the lack of knowledge of peace...Not in the knowledge of war...

People are all too often ready to name people a threat just because they're different...Preemptive is becoming far too comfortable for many and the people who don't question their duty within the armed service are to blame as much as anyone...

People who don't question their duty within the armed service? How so?

[K.Snyder]

Originally Posted by Predator Prevention

People who don't question their duty within the armed service? How so?

Would you jump off of a bridge if someone told you to?...

Would you then jump off of a bridge just because the person to whom told you were wearing the uniform of your country?...

[Predator Prevention]

Originally Posted by K.Snyder

Would you jump off of a bridge if someone told you to?...

Would you then jump off of a bridge just because the person to whom told you were wearing the uniform of your country?...

I understand where you're coming from with that....I think. I do know that loyalty and service dedication must be thought about before they even put the uniform on. I'm a military wife. We are proud and dedicated. My husband doesn't WANT to go to war, but when you choose the armed services, you have chosen to do what they ask of you, in the hopes that you can trust that they ask you to do what is best for the country you are wishing to serve...........within certain moral boundaries ofcourse, my husband will do what the government asks of him because that is his duty.

[K.Snyder]

Originally Posted by Predator Prevention

I understand where you're coming from with that....I think. I do know that loyalty and service dedication must be thought about before they even put the uniform on. I'm a military wife. We are proud and dedicated. My husband doesn't WANT to go to war, but when you choose the armed services, you have chosen to do what they ask of you, in the hopes that you can trust that they ask you to do what is best for the country you are wishing to serve...........within certain moral boundaries ofcourse, my husband will do what the government asks of him because that is his duty.

As for myself I believe at any given time I were opposed to anything I've been asked of myself by my country or not I would drop it faster than a 5 year old drops the lit end of a cigerette...

[K.Snyder]

Originally Posted by Predator Prevention

I understand where you're coming from with that....I think. I do know that loyalty and service dedication must be thought about before they even put the uniform on.

I would like to stress upon the point that just because a government had been right in the past about any given thing doesn't mean that they will always be right in the future...Hence why I feel it's needed to always question authority...Authority isn't divine right...But the people who have it would like to lead you to believe it is...

[Predator Prevention]

Originally Posted by K.Snyder

I would like to stress upon the point that just because a government had been right in the past about any given thing doesn't mean that they will always be right in the future...Hence why I feel it's needed to always question authority...Authority isn't divine right...But the people who have it would like to lead you to believe it is...

Yet a country without authority, wouldn't be much of a country. Those in place of authority do have a tendency to take advantage of it, and there lies the problem.....a "god" complex.

[gmc]

Originally Posted by QUINNSCOMMENTARY

As John McCain recently said, only a fool or fraud talks tough or romantically about war. Yet, there seems to be constant war around the world.

We are afraid of war and rightly so of course, but that fear may actually lead us not away from but toward conflicts. In the last century, much of the world ignored the growing militarism of Japan, the growing power of Hitler and his message, the fascists in Italy and even the horror of post revolution Russia. Is it because we cannot comprehend such evil, or that our fear of war helps us to simply look the other way and hope the political rhetoric is just that, rhetoric. But of course it often is not only rhetoric, but rather setting the stage for a single person to acquire power on the back of some scapegoat and isn’t’ it plain old scary that millions of human beings can so easily be cajoled to follow this path, over and over throughout the centuries?

Is today any different? Are we guilty of not taking the rhetoric from the Middle East governments or Muslim leaders seriously? Is it just too hard to accept that the outspoken call for the destruction of non-Muslims, or America or of Israel is real? Who could have conceived the possibility of September 11, 2001 any more than December 7, 1941?

The Middle East may seem far away to many of us, but the rhetoric of hate is in our backyard and throughout Europe, often under the guise of religion.

As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal asked, have we learned the lessons of the last century? I fear not. We seem incapable of seeing what is before our eyes.

Bit simplistic. Japan wasn't ignored, neither was Italy but realistically there wasn't much anybody could do about it. After losing the better part of a generation in ww1 not many wanted another war unless it became unavoidable. Militarism was hardly confined to japan, italy and germany. the phillipines and hawaii didn't just wake up one day and decide to be american.

Hitler had widespread support elsewhere in the world- a brief look at who was financing him in the early years should make you, as an american, blush with embarrassment as should your rejection of jewish refugees especially since many seem to have selective memories. The anti semitism and it's consequences while there was such a gradual thing many just turned a blind eye and woke up one day to find it in full force.

It was a timeof tremndous social change-Hitler and used fear to introduce changes that gradually let him get his hands on power. Interestingly enough the first thing he did was suspend the law preventing people being held without a trial. Anyone objecting clearly supported the revolutionaries.

Many supported his policies especially against communists and anti Semitism was not a peculiarly german phenomenon-indeed up until Hitler germany was a lot more tolerant than many nations which is one of the reasons the change is so chocking. One of the reasons so few actually got out was because so many other countries closed their borders to them they couldn't leave. the only occupied country that didn't hand over the Jews was Holland.

Post revolution Russia western nations did intervene militarily but didn't have the troops or the will to continue a long drawn out war. Did you american troops were involved fighting with the white russians

Is today any different? Are we guilty of not taking the rhetoric from the Middle East governments or Muslim leaders seriously? Is it just too hard to accept that the outspoken call for the destruction of non-Muslims, or America or of Israel is real? Who could have conceived the possibility of September 11, 2001 any more than December 7, 1941?

Course it's real but the likelihood of anyone managing it is remote in the extreme. If you want to combat extremism don't do things that gain them support and nevr abandon your own principles. If you would fight monsters best not to become like them.

If you would learn from the last century you need to know what actually happened.