Recently, there has been quite a bit of news regarding the one-hundred-year anniversary of Ottoman destruction of the Armenian people during World War I. This got me to thinking about something that has been on my mind some over the past few years. Why does World War II hold a significant place in American memory and consideration, but World War I does not?
I figured for a long while that the reason for World War II's place in the American heart when compared to other wars was due to the fact that it came into being when film-making was in a bit of a golden age. There is a lot of reasonable-quality film of everything from the battles over the Pacific to D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge to the dropping of the atomic bombs, so this was the first opportunity people had to really experience the war. I now think it is something different.
When it comes to war people like to know that they are on the right and noble side. They like to know that the sacrifices that are being made are virtuous stands against a grievous evil, and that there is no question that what is being done is necessary. Unlike most conflicts, World War II has this in spades. Between the genocide committed by the Nazis and the atrocities of the Japanese, it is easy to see the Allies as the white knight against the obvious Axis evil. I believe this is also why so many movies have been created using World War II as a setting. The story teller doesn't have to waste any effort at all establishing who the good and the bad guys are. It is also a nice shortcut to positive feelings of patriotism.
World War I was completely different, though. Countries were dragged into war, not because of some overwhelming moral imperative, but rather because they had treaties allying them with other countries that had already declared war. The United States was only drawn in when its trading interests to the United Kingdom were threatened by Germany, so the primary purposes of entering the war were economic (and revenge for the sinking of the Lusitania). To an objective observer there was no honorable side. Looking from the outside, there were only sides who sent millions of soldiers off to die horrible deaths in order to protect their political and economic interests.
Had I understood this about the Great War I think I would have been more interested in it. The complexity of the politics leading up to the war, and the ludicrous inability of nations to take appropriate steps to avoid their own destruction is fascinating. The fact that World War II can be blamed on the economic fallout that followed World War I indicates that the one only happened due to the other. The entirety of history and everything that has happened in the world in the last hundred years has been a direct result of the poor decisions that were made in the lead-up to World War I.
It is simply astounding that the shape of the world today can be directly tied to decisions a few world leaders and diplomats made over one hundred years ago. You never know how far-reaching one decision or series of decisions will be.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
ten years
A couple of weeks ago was the ten year anniversary for this blog. When I look at life as it was for me then and now I don't know if I am more surprised by the things that have changed or the things that have stayed the same.
Most of the good friends with whom I created these blogs have moved, though I believe that some of those plans were already in the works when the blogs were started. We lost our good friend Forrest along the way, as well as my co-worker at the time, T-Bop. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and I did not properly understand that ten years ago.
The things I am the most embarrassed about from my former days are the issues I was apparently working through and the fact that I had a far lesser grasp on essential doctrines than I thought I did.
Regarding issues, everyone has them but they're more obvious for some than others. I have made significant improvements over the last ten years, and I'm sure that's partially just part of the process of aging. There are more things I'm confident that I understand, I care somewhat less what people think, and I have a better grasp on my own personal quirks than I did before. Life can be a positive journey in that respect. I still need to mellow out quite a bit, though.
Regarding doctrine, I'll just say I'm a bit mortified. Ten years ago I was as well-read in the Bible as a twenty-five-year-old can be, but I lacked a depth of understanding. With every discovery I make in study I gain new embarrassment regarding things I used to say. Some positions I have held in my doctrinal journey have been borderline heretical, and so I have had to correct and repent of some erroneous positions. You live and learn, but this is serious stuff.
I have always been the sort to stick around in one place, so I still work in the same job but at a higher title. This time ten years ago I was in the process of deciding if that was really the path I wanted to take. When I committed to getting my MBA ten years ago, that was a commitment to stay in this job for a long while because I was getting tuition assistance. I will confess that I had some serious questions about the wisdom of that path ten years ago, though I believe I took the best route forward. That, of course, comes from someone who values consistency, so staying at the same place for ten years naturally feels best.
The biggest difference in my life from ten years ago, though, are that Golden and I now have NJ and CH in our lives. I cannot fathom too many things that changes the nature and priorities of your life as having kids, and there's plenty of positive and negative that can be said about it. We love ours, though, and are so proud of the progress they have made in school, church, and elsewhere.
Finally, this year Golden and I celebrate our fifteenth anniversary. When I started the blog we were looking at five years together, and that seemed impossibly long. It doesn't feel like fifteen is remotely possible. Part of that is because I still feel like we are learning more about each other each day. She is aging far, far better than I am, and I am fortunate to have her. One thing that you get out of fifteen years of marriage is perspective on the things that make a good or bad spouse. I have a good wife.
I hope to be able to keep this up for another ten years. Obviously, I do not post like I used to. Life responsibilities guarantee that. That does not mean that I do not appreciate having this outlet, though. I hope all who still read this get some enjoyment out of it.
Most of the good friends with whom I created these blogs have moved, though I believe that some of those plans were already in the works when the blogs were started. We lost our good friend Forrest along the way, as well as my co-worker at the time, T-Bop. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and I did not properly understand that ten years ago.
The things I am the most embarrassed about from my former days are the issues I was apparently working through and the fact that I had a far lesser grasp on essential doctrines than I thought I did.
Regarding issues, everyone has them but they're more obvious for some than others. I have made significant improvements over the last ten years, and I'm sure that's partially just part of the process of aging. There are more things I'm confident that I understand, I care somewhat less what people think, and I have a better grasp on my own personal quirks than I did before. Life can be a positive journey in that respect. I still need to mellow out quite a bit, though.
Regarding doctrine, I'll just say I'm a bit mortified. Ten years ago I was as well-read in the Bible as a twenty-five-year-old can be, but I lacked a depth of understanding. With every discovery I make in study I gain new embarrassment regarding things I used to say. Some positions I have held in my doctrinal journey have been borderline heretical, and so I have had to correct and repent of some erroneous positions. You live and learn, but this is serious stuff.
I have always been the sort to stick around in one place, so I still work in the same job but at a higher title. This time ten years ago I was in the process of deciding if that was really the path I wanted to take. When I committed to getting my MBA ten years ago, that was a commitment to stay in this job for a long while because I was getting tuition assistance. I will confess that I had some serious questions about the wisdom of that path ten years ago, though I believe I took the best route forward. That, of course, comes from someone who values consistency, so staying at the same place for ten years naturally feels best.
The biggest difference in my life from ten years ago, though, are that Golden and I now have NJ and CH in our lives. I cannot fathom too many things that changes the nature and priorities of your life as having kids, and there's plenty of positive and negative that can be said about it. We love ours, though, and are so proud of the progress they have made in school, church, and elsewhere.
Finally, this year Golden and I celebrate our fifteenth anniversary. When I started the blog we were looking at five years together, and that seemed impossibly long. It doesn't feel like fifteen is remotely possible. Part of that is because I still feel like we are learning more about each other each day. She is aging far, far better than I am, and I am fortunate to have her. One thing that you get out of fifteen years of marriage is perspective on the things that make a good or bad spouse. I have a good wife.
I hope to be able to keep this up for another ten years. Obviously, I do not post like I used to. Life responsibilities guarantee that. That does not mean that I do not appreciate having this outlet, though. I hope all who still read this get some enjoyment out of it.
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