I remember reading about how when the French asked that French troops be used to "officially" liberate France, the Americans told them that they could only have French troops do it if the French troops were all white. Which is ridiculously ridiculous. There was only one African-American batallion at D-Day...because they weren't allowed to be there.
I think that in one sense he is right-- in the sense of the war. The soldiers who fought knew they were doing the right thing, knew that the Germans were wrong, knew that they could fight to protect the lives of people everywhere and know they were doing the right thing. Soldiers today don't have it so easy. The wars we're fighting are morally ambiguous and don't often have clear enemies.
But beyond the right v. wrong clarity of the second world war, you are completely right. Things weren't simpler. It's just that only the simplicity was related.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-10-31 04:28 pm (UTC)I think that in one sense he is right-- in the sense of the war. The soldiers who fought knew they were doing the right thing, knew that the Germans were wrong, knew that they could fight to protect the lives of people everywhere and know they were doing the right thing. Soldiers today don't have it so easy. The wars we're fighting are morally ambiguous and don't often have clear enemies.
But beyond the right v. wrong clarity of the second world war, you are completely right. Things weren't simpler. It's just that only the simplicity was related.