Thread: Memorial day observed - Do you approve?

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

I think we will eventually get to the point where war no longer happens. It is going to take the end of dictatorships/monarchies/etc. to get us there, but I think the world will be free of totalitarian states some time in the next few hundred years. Let's hope.

Exactly, and that's precisely why war is so necessary. Those are the very evils that the "good guys" go to war to get rid of.

The Allied Powers helped both of us directly by stopping the world from becoming a Hitlerian state, which is what the world was on its way to becoming. Imagine what that reality would be like. It almost happened. I am also appreciative of the American forces that won our independence from Britain, for another example. Britain is it sucked when it was an oppressive monarchy.

Again, good call.

A fact can involve an if. If A = B and B = C, then A = C. That is a fact that involves the word "if".

I love it

Originally Posted by Oneironaught

Exactly, and that's precisely why war is so necessary. Those are the very evils that the "good guys" go to war to get rid of.

Just remember, each side thinks of themselves as "the good guys".

Originally Posted by Replicon

Just remember, each side thinks of themselves as "the good guys".

I'm more than aware of that. All you can do is think things through and hope you're on the "right" team.

But, there is a big difference that often figures into the picture. The difference is that the "bad guys" are not fighting for freedom. The bad guys are usually fighting against freedom.

Look at the Middle East situation. Look at the Hitler situation. Look at the Pol Pot situation. Look at the whole Soviet Union situation. The list goes on... What common traits do all of those share? There were all against freedom.

Memorial Day is about freedom and those who fought for it. That is who the "good guys" are.

First off; I support any and every troop that goes into battle with a clear head and sober resolve to fight for good. These people are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice (and then some) for, what they perceive is, the good of our nation. For that reason, I definitely support Memorial Day.
However, what I don't always support is the means for these brave men and women being herded into conflict under false or insufficient pretenses, and the damage-control ideology of "If you don't support our war, you don't support our troops" that so many (everyone on Fox News, as a small example) like to use, to try to take the public crosshairs off of what's really important.
But I don't really feel like going too far into all that.
Yes, I approve of Memorial Day, given that it's acknowledged for the right reasons, and not as some spectacle to promote "patriotism."

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

I think we will eventually get to the point where war no longer happens. It is going to take the end of dictatorships/monarchies/etc. to get us there, but I think the world will be free of totalitarian states some time in the next few hundred years. Let's hope.

I really don't see that as possible - in any way. War is just as much an eruption of the conflict of ideas and beliefs (which - call me cynical but - the world will never be free of, if you ask me) as it is about government strong-arming.
But yeah, for the sake of optimism, let's hope.