Reply #13: Let's look at that a little closer, shall we AP? [View All]

[IrateCitizen]

I love it when the examples of WWII are brought out of the woodwork, because most people don't realize the lengths to which many people went to not only placate, but openly admire Hitler in the years leading up to WWII. And they did so in full knowledge of the kind of "law and order" that was taking place over there.

Then, of course, there was the holocaust. Thing is, prior to WWII, Hitler put a bunch of Jewish people on a boat and sent it out to find a home for them other than Germany. At every single port -- including the US -- that boat was turned away. While this was hardly an endorsement of the holocaust, I think it highlights how concerned our government was for the plight of the Jewish people.

Furthermore, there were a great number of people who fought in WWII -- the first "total war" that affected civilians more than armies in our history -- came to the conclusion of "never again" after it was over. Even with the horrors of fascism, they didn't believe that the millions of lives lost in the end were truly worth it. Three prime examples of this mindset are Howard Zinn, Phil Berrigan and Kurt Vonnegut. I believe that Joseph Heller shared similar sentiments as well. Berrigan remarked on his service as an infantry lieutenant on the front lines in Europe, "My government taught me how to be an effective killing machine."

With regards to the campaign against Japan, it was not really a war against fascism as much as it was the last true war between colonial powers. While this doesn't excuse the brutality exercised by Japan over its colonial subjects (it was absolutely horrible), it is really the only way to keep this in context. We were not overly concerned with Japan until 1941 -- and their takeover of Manchuko (Manchuria) took place in the mid-1930's.