It's quite easy to say you'd support WWII with hindsight, with full knowledge of how terrible the Nazis and Japanese were. How many people opposed to war actually joined the army in the moment?
I'm going to go with a strong "no" on this one. You've asked why a specific group of left-leaning groups and others on the American spectrum who fit into that kind of coalition or have what's considered American leftist foreign policy. I've posited my position, and I think there's a decent chance that's the case. We're talking about left wing bogeymen; racism, militarism, imperialism, etc, etc. As I said, it's a total layup.
This is a big thing I notice thats unique about World War II. Its that its the one war that people are universally willing to support even if they personally oppose the war or are members of a faction that is traditionally anti-military and cynical of the state.
It's quite easy to say you'd support WWII with hindsight, with full knowledge of how terrible the Nazis and Japanese were. How many people opposed to war actually joined the army in the moment?
"How many lands have my feet trod and my eyes seen! What terrible scenes of desolation of death I witnessed in those years of continual war. Adverse circumstances had made us, anti-militarists, the most battle hardened soldiers of the Allied armies"
I think this is a key point. Through much of the war, it would be easy to describe WW2 as a rerun of WW1. A bunch of imperialists and authoritarians engaged in pointless fighting. Who would make the same decision to fight without accurate knowledge of the Holocaust? Even beyond that, who would make the same decision to fight without knowledge of the tremendous success in rehabilitating the devestated war zone in Europe?
I think this is a key point. Through much of the war, it would be easy to describe WW2 as a rerun of WW1. A bunch of imperialists and authoritarians engaged in pointless fighting. Who would make the same decision to fight without accurate knowledge of the Holocaust? Even beyond that, who would make the same decision to fight without knowledge of the tremendous success in rehabilitating the devestated war zone in Europe?
Gas chambers pretty much.How did WWII get such a reputation as a noble war that even anarcho-Capitalists, libertarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and even Muslim fundamentalists all state they would have volunteered to fight against Hitler? I mean thats the general consensus today.
How did WWII get such a reputation as a noble war that even anarcho-Capitalists, libertarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and even Muslim fundamentalists all state they would have volunteered to fight against Hitler? I mean thats the general consensus today.
It would be interesting to know how the left and Hollywood would regard WW3 today if it started in say late 1952 over Stalin pushing hard again on Berlin combined with the Korean War going even hotter and Stalin throwing a dozen divisions into the mix.