Dann Todd's 'Dain Bramage'^**

Do You Remember?

Do you remember when we stood as one? One people? One nation? United by the common bond of our passion for liberty?

Toby Keith's song "Have You Forgotten?" becomes more valid with each passing year of this conflict.

From a letter to the Editor - Circa December 12, 1941

President Roosevelt has proclaimed that December 7th will be a Day that will live in Infamy. Perhaps this is true. But, shouldn't we seek a more measured response to this terrible tragedy? Wouldn't a violent act of retribution against Japan, or most certainly against Germany, which has done us no harm, only serve to reinforce that which was the cause of this attack to begin with: the American policy of taking sides in a war that is none of our business and our crippling economic policies towards both Japan and Germany?

President Roosevelt's speech worries me. Is he willing to send bombs and soldiers that will take the lives of children and other innocents? Will he in truth live up to his claim of representing what is good about our country?

In his response to the German - English war, Roosevelt has displayed a lack of a sense of justice and goodness. He has clearly chosen sides by supplying the English with armaments and supplies while ignoring their attacks against their European neighbor, Germany. England is, with the explicit blessing of the American presidency, shooting down German planes and terrorizing the citizens of the European continent (and so killing innocent people). Evil is now raining onto both peoples.

The problem all along has been that evil visited upon a people has been interpreted a proof of the victim's absolute good. This has led to righteous rage and evil responses to evil. Just because Germany is now governing all of Europe, doesn't mean that England is good.

Suppose that our country had been bitterly oppressed by its neighbors for tens of years. Suppose we had been forced to let the world dictate the terms of how we governed ourselves and whether or not we could have our own military forces. Suppose that we had had to pay staggering financial reparations to other countries, permanently crippling our economy and our way of life.

Well, all of this and more has happened to the Germans. Should we not try to understand their natural desire to expand and grow strong once more after their long years of oppression?

And what of the Japanese, who were once our allies? In this moment of national sorrow, how can we justify retaliation when we, our nation, cut off the lifeblood of their nation by illegally blockading their supply of oil? Rather than asking ourselves, "What should we do next?" and without much consideration coming to the conclusion that we should go to War!, we should instead be asking ourselves, "What have we done?" and "What are we?" We need to come to understand what it is about America and our arbitrary international policies that has produced such extreme hostility towards this nation.

And what of these Jews that we keep on hearing about? Yes, it is possible that they have been mistreated by their German neighbors, but have they not brought it upon themselves? Why don't they move to someplace like British Palestine if they don't like where they are living? Are we prepared to wipe out every child in Germany and Japan merely keep some Jews from being treated badly? Why don't we declare war on the Catholic church when we know that they have treated Jews badly for hundreds of years? Are we prepared to bomb Germany and Japan into rubble for the sake of a few Jews?

It is exactly as insane for us to kill innocent people in other countries as it for anyone to kill innocent people. We should all be calling for an international peaceful solution to war, not perpetuating a cycle that is absolutely guaranteed to bring more acts of war against us and more suffering into the world.

A Concerned American Citizen

When I found this, I had intended to write a more extensive commentary. Something along the lines of noting that surety of purpose and endless questioning of purpose are equally wrong.

Having had a couple of pretty hectic and moderately unpleasant weeks, I'll just let the above stand on its own.

by Dann 

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