Ken Burns has produced another monolithic historical series being aired on PBS stations. The WAR is a story about the Second World War told through the “personal accounts of men and women from four American towns.” The first episode of the series is entitled “A Necessary War.”
I am all for remembering and honoring the great struggles and sacrifices of World War II veterans and families. What confuses me is that the same politicians, entertainers, and media personalities who rush to honor the legacies of sacrifice and courage among World War II veterans turn around and vehemently protest American involvement in war now. What makes the Second World War “a necessary war” and today’s global war on terror (GWOT) an illegal?
I submit that American prosecution of the GWOT is more necessary than WWII. From the vantage of historical hindsight, it is doubtful that any of the Axis powers could have sustained any credible military operations on American territory. Today, however, the combination of weapons and tactics provides the enemy with plenty of capability to inflict enormous damage within American territory. A few box cutters and commercial airliners filled the bill in 2001. The deadly, dangerous fanaticism of the current enemy exceeds even that of the WWII Japanese Imperial Army and their military code of Bushido.
Yet, today, the same personalities who stumble over one another to salute the necessity of WWII likewise stumble over themselves to be at the front of today’s anti-war parades. What do they do with the historical reality that every one of their points of protest against today’s involvement in armed conflict occurred during the war they honor? There were times in combat when surrendering enemies were killed both unintentionally and intentionally. Non-combatant civilians of allied and enemy nations died from artillery barrages and bombing sorties. Nations were invaded even though they were not Axis powers. Specific civil liberties were curtailed at home, and citizens’ activities were subject to monitoring by various federal and state agencies. The President of the United States of America and other political leaders invoked the name of God and encouraged Americans to pray and worship repeatedly during the war.
In WWII, these realities are honored as necessary. In the GWOT, the same realities are protested as illegal. Even though I agree that every survivor of WWII, both military and civilian, deserve the honor they receive, it appears to me that those who honor the past conflict and revile the present conflict are not genuine in their intention. They are either outright dishonest or incredibly ignorant. If they were somehow translated back in time to the 1930s and 1940s, these same politicians, entertainers, and media personalities of the American left would attempt to obstruct the successful prosecution of war against the Axis powers and lead America to defeat just as they are doing with the GWOT today. Those who would call the Second World War “a necessary war” yet disparage the Global War on Terror today as illegal do not demonstrate their patriotism; instead, they expose their hypocrisy.
I am all for remembering and honoring the great struggles and sacrifices of World War II veterans and families. What confuses me is that the same politicians, entertainers, and media personalities who rush to honor the legacies of sacrifice and courage among World War II veterans turn around and vehemently protest American involvement in war now. What makes the Second World War “a necessary war” and today’s global war on terror (GWOT) an illegal?
I submit that American prosecution of the GWOT is more necessary than WWII. From the vantage of historical hindsight, it is doubtful that any of the Axis powers could have sustained any credible military operations on American territory. Today, however, the combination of weapons and tactics provides the enemy with plenty of capability to inflict enormous damage within American territory. A few box cutters and commercial airliners filled the bill in 2001. The deadly, dangerous fanaticism of the current enemy exceeds even that of the WWII Japanese Imperial Army and their military code of Bushido.
Yet, today, the same personalities who stumble over one another to salute the necessity of WWII likewise stumble over themselves to be at the front of today’s anti-war parades. What do they do with the historical reality that every one of their points of protest against today’s involvement in armed conflict occurred during the war they honor? There were times in combat when surrendering enemies were killed both unintentionally and intentionally. Non-combatant civilians of allied and enemy nations died from artillery barrages and bombing sorties. Nations were invaded even though they were not Axis powers. Specific civil liberties were curtailed at home, and citizens’ activities were subject to monitoring by various federal and state agencies. The President of the United States of America and other political leaders invoked the name of God and encouraged Americans to pray and worship repeatedly during the war.
In WWII, these realities are honored as necessary. In the GWOT, the same realities are protested as illegal. Even though I agree that every survivor of WWII, both military and civilian, deserve the honor they receive, it appears to me that those who honor the past conflict and revile the present conflict are not genuine in their intention. They are either outright dishonest or incredibly ignorant. If they were somehow translated back in time to the 1930s and 1940s, these same politicians, entertainers, and media personalities of the American left would attempt to obstruct the successful prosecution of war against the Axis powers and lead America to defeat just as they are doing with the GWOT today. Those who would call the Second World War “a necessary war” yet disparage the Global War on Terror today as illegal do not demonstrate their patriotism; instead, they expose their hypocrisy.
(Photos: Left, American troops land on Saipan. Right, American troops in combat, Iraqi Freedom)
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