Before 1941, we called World War I ..."The Great War"

[JohnnyRingo]

WWI was "the war to end all wars". We found later that it could be outdone, and a new name was needed to reflect the possibilty of worse global conflicts.

Now I wonder what the future will call "The Great Depression" of 1929.

Whether it'll be the First Depression or World Depression One, at least maybe we'll stop refering to war and strife as "great".

(edited to add the 1st paragraph)

[tekisui]

Until this current mess is named, we can forget any hopes of seeing

the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as it is nameless, we are stuck in the middle of it.

[amerikat]

1. GD2(nt)

[CountAllVotes]

2. actually ....

it was known to be the war that would end all wars. It did not did it?

:dem:

[NoPasaran]

4. Marketing concept only

No guarantee of actual product performance

[SidneyCarton]

15. Both.

It was known as both the "Great War" and later, as "The War to End All Wars" I think the second name came of Wilson's hopes to "Make the World Safe for Democracy" line.

[CountAllVotes]

17. my grandfather hoped it was the war to end all wars

gassed WWI and lived through it. What a mess - depression was next! :(

And people wonder why I HATE THE STOCK MARKET! Can you say WAR PROFITEERING?

:kick:

[SidneyCarton]

18. I can understand that. In fact, considering the absolute horror of WWI

I can understand, to some degree, the desire for appeasement in the 1930's, anything seemed better than going back to futile, unadulterated slaughter.

For your Grandfather: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html

[CountAllVotes]

20. thank you!

and I'm sure my late grandfather that fortunately did not live to be real old thanks you too! May he RIP. This is my wish and hope for all that have fallen in senseless wars around the world.

Some people do understand. :hug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. This is NOT even close to a Great Depression level

and pray that it doesn't get there

[Taverner]

8. Very true

None of us knows what it was like to live during the Great Depression

Imagine poverty, not the kind of poverty we have now that we could solve if we just stopped being greedy, but imagine a far reaching poverty that affects everyone - Third World Poverty. The Middle Class - gone. No hope, no jobs, and the layoffs you saw on Black Monday repeating itself every day for a year

That is a depression

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I've seen that poverty, crushing poverty

where you have to choose between a bowl of frijoles, or a stack of tortillas

Or your housing, or what passes for it, you put together with industrial waste and get to sleep on dirt

Oh didn't say I lived it, just saw it

And that was as close as I ever want to get to that

[Selatius]

26. I only saw a glimpse of that post-Katrina here on the Miss. Gulf Coast.

After the infrastructure was destroyed, the unemployment rate hovered at about 20% for several months almost to a year. There used to be people under bridges holding signs up advertising they would work for food or simple shelter.

[Auggie]

5. How about the Bush Depression?

[JohnnyRingo]

9. you win

...lest we never forget.

[SteelPenguin]

6. The great depresssion wasn't even the first one

What's now known as 'The Long Depression' which went from 1873 through 1897 was referred to as 'The Great Depression' until the depression of the 30's took that mantle. My guess is that 'The Great Depression' will keep that name for the forseeable future, and any new Depression will get another name.

[marmar]

7. To quote Yoda:

"Wars do not make one great."

[Gman]

10. I don't think anyone used "great" to mean something good

The connotation has always been big or huge. THE Big Depression or THE Big War. No one ever said they were good that I've ever known including my grandparents who were around served in WWI and lived through the Great Depression.

[Strelnikov_]

11. "The underlying theory of Newspeak is that if something can't be said, then it can't be thought. "

n/t

[Igel]

24. It's not just Newspeak.

There are linguists, literature experts, some anthropologists, sociologists and poli sci folk who would agree.

Most of us think they're wrong, or that they have, at the very least, rested a rather strong hypothesis on a rather impressive paucity of data.

[liberal N proud]

13. Call this on the Bush Depression

The failures of his appointees and agencies are to blame for this mess.

[Warpy]

14. The Great Rehearsal of 1929

will be the new name, the way things are shaping up now.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, that the conservatives in Congress will realize that nobody gives a shit how uncomfortable they are with regulations and public works jobs and that they'd better approve them all sooner rather than later if they don't want to face the wrath of the public at the polls.

We still do have a chance to come out of this with a deep recession. Other places all over the world won't be quite as lucky, it's over for them right now.

[DavidDvorkin]

16. No, before 1939

World War Two began in 1939, not 1941.

[Wiley50]

19. The 1st REPUBLICAN Great Depression. This is the 2nd REPUBLICAN Great Depression n/t

[Raskolnik]

21. I'm not sure you understand the historical usage of "the great."

It doesn't mean "The Really Good Depression" or "The Excellent War." It means "very large" and/or "remarkable."

[Caliman73]

23. Thank you.

You beat me to it."Great" does not necessarily imply something positive although today it is almost exclusively taken as such. Great does also mean Large or Significant.

[Igel]

25. Although we've kept the earlier usage in

fixed expressions--"I have a great big problem."

[ddeclue]

22. Excellent observation. K&R n/t