If you consider the cost in human lives, the cost to environment at every level, not to mention the financial cost, these are ver sobering thoughts.
2006-09-05 03:15:29 · 33 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Of course they should. There was tremendous sacrifice out of the people of this nation during WWII. There were shortages, women had to go to the work place, everyone felt it and everyone supported it of all ages. It certainly isn't like today. We haven't been put out one bit. We have an all volunteer force fighting, we have no shortages, we are very fortunate in this country.
2006-09-05 03:21:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The question is strange as it seeks to link two different and distinct issues. Yes the WWII Allied veterans do deserve to be honoured. The price they paid was huge and perhaps almost impossible for the current generations to even begin to comprehend - so it would be legitimate to ay they deserve more praise than they get. Unfortunately history and historical writers are constant revisionists and will seek to view historical events often from a contemporary position that singularly fails to appreciate the social/ economic or political climate...the reasons for going to war were many and varied and well documented, the legitimacy for seeking to stop the German war machine was and is well understood moreso after the end of the war and the discovery of the camps. Could it have been done better or differently? Of course. It would have been better to have sought to also curb the rise of Stalin and the excesses that accompanied it, but these thoughts are often with hindsight.
As for counting cost of human lives, environmental damage etc. this is irrelevant when laid against the disaster and cost that would have been if the Allied forces had NOT stood up against Hitler. The cost of human lives would be in tens of millions as eugenics and racial purity policies were spread around the globe. Financial cost suggests putting a price on the freedom and democracies enjoyed today while suggesting non-intervention would have carried no financial price - wrong wrong wrong in extremis.
The environment suffered but less so than for instance in terms of the rise of industrialisation or the introduction of the internal combustion engine or for that matter the continued ridiculous love for SUVs - these are all individually sobering thoughts but to link it to "getting as much praise as they do" is wrong headed and little short of ignorant of the issues being questioned. I would advise a good history book and then some selected reading on economics etc.
2006-09-05 03:43:29 · answer #2 · answered by Gilly S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you asking if we shouldn't heap all the praise on the broad shoulders of those very brave Vets who stopped Germany & Japan from taking over the world because lives were lost and the enviroment was harmed? It's better to ask why didn't we do more and do it faster to honor these, now old men. Most didn't live to see the monument dedicated to them.
Sure there is a cost in human lives, enviromental and financial loss when a country is fighting a war. Did you ever consider what it cost the Vets and their families. Most of the men who served signed up to do so, unlike the wars since Vietnam.
I married to a Vietnam Vet and my Father was one of those you question. Go to a Senior Center or a Vet's home and talk to these old genlemen and find out the answer to this Q for yourself. If they will talk to you, most don't like to, you will learn a life lesson.
God Bless Our Troops!
2006-09-05 04:11:43 · answer #3 · answered by SNOOP 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You mean German WWII veterans? No, they shouldn't get any praise at all since they helped instigate the 'darkest chapter of man'. American veterans, on the other hand, should be praised for defending freedom. What do you think the alternative should have been? For everyone just surrender before the Nazis like the French? By your logic, anyone willing to point a gun at someone to get something should win by default. You really think that would reduce violence?
2006-09-05 03:27:55 · answer #4 · answered by Will 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Unlike some wars that have taken place of recent, WWII was a war that had to be fought. The veterans of that war when signing up where signing up to fight against a dictator who would have easilly conquered all of Europe and who knows how much more if these veterans had not risked their lives figthing for freedom. Sure the war cost a great deal in lives, caused environmental destruction and cost tremendous amount of money though the cost of not fighting in that war would have been far greater than anything it caused. Hitler would have only killed more people if he had been allowed to wage his war unhindered. Though it was a dark part in human history, the courage and dedication of those veterans should not be forgotten and they can never receive to much praise for what they did.
2006-09-05 03:25:17 · answer #5 · answered by Tim B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
These brave men should be honoured and remembered for all time. These chaps, and those who fought in WW1, went though the sort of hell we can only imagine, many of them are probably still traumatised by the sights, sounds and smells they encountered, prepared to put their lives on the line to help stop something absolutely horredous happening.
I for one, get goosebumps every November 11th, whilst attending the Rememberance Day parade.
Never, ever forget what they did for you and for me - just hope that you aren't called upon to do the same.
Cost to the environment? The environment is a marveloussly adaptable "system", which will have recovered from any damage inflicted, although really, I'd say the defeat of tyranny and global fascism is far more valuable.
2006-09-05 03:28:09 · answer #6 · answered by BushRaider69 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What an idiot this guy is and i would like to point out that not only America was involved in this War, although for once they did not start it for a change and as history shows weren't too keen to join in,however this would be the government and not the Army /Navy etc
but all vets of all wars deserve praise for standing up and facing death like that, even the German ones who did not have any choice in the matter..
2006-09-05 03:37:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your ability to think things out halfway and with little basis, so common these days, is "sobering".
No amount of praise is enough for most of the men who served honorably and bravely to help the world survive that dark chapter. The freedom to express opinions as on Answers is one of the many products of their service and sacrifice. In general, these men and their families received absolutely nothing for years of service or for making the ultimate sacrifice.
The question is almost disgusting: WARS happen in part at least because so many people have no respect for human values and historical truth, as is your case. In peace and the luxuries it allows to the unworthy as well as the good, people and opinions become degraded, lies and babble put us on the brink of a new war. Begin to honor what deserves honor, begin to recognize facts and not repeat propaganda, begin to realise just how much you owe to the men who fought and died for the allies in WWII, and you begin to pave the road to a lasting peace.
I often wonder if we live among so many liars, idiots and cowards today because too many fine young men died childless ON BOTH SIDES in the two World Wars, when we sent citizens to fight citizens while the cowards stayed home.
Today, as in the 20th Century, or people stand up to the enemies of humanity or there is no freedom. The people putting their lives on the line today, though they have much better equipment, pay and benefits, deserve our praise too.
2006-09-06 05:37:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Allied WW2 veterans deserve all the praise heaped on them. WW2 was one of the few "just" wars in C2Oth century history. If the outcome had not been what it was the world we would be living in now would be horrendous. The costs of an Allied defeat would have been much greater.
2006-09-05 03:36:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You have to wonder the level of historical understanding of the kind of person who asks such questions. I think it is quite shallow and uninformed to only view the aftermath in material terms.
Get this straight; there was a human oppressor - a dictator seeking world domination.
He was killing innocent people, usurping sovereign lands, and threatening the lives and lifestyles of the known world.
He invaded, conquered and enslaved a significant part of Europe, as well as attacked Great Britain causing great loss of life and property.
He had to be stopped.
Your fathers and grandfathers offered up their lives to preserve and provide you with the way of life you now enjoy.
Can anyone other than a total idiot really think of a single legitimate reason NOT to honor them?
2006-09-05 03:26:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋