27e: Conclusions

1. An American Paradox
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was a study in contradictions. Virginian-born, he became president of Princeton University in 1902 and governor of New Jersey in 1910. Although passionately committed to the cause of democracy, he was also a white supremacist who believed openly in the inferiority of blacks and immigrants. As President, he lashed out hard against anyone who opposed him: individuals, organizations, or even Congress. Yet his vision for ending the war and bringing about lasting world peace through the  Fourteen Points earned him, rightly, the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. The world will never attain Wilson's ideal - a network of democratic nation-states united in peace through an international organization of nations. It's hard to see Wilson himself comfortable in that sort of setting. But his ideas were a big step in the right direction.

2. Count Us Out
America has always possessed an isolationist streak. George Washington himself didn't always follow his advice to avoid foreign entanglements. Once the war of 1812 put an end to the immediate prospect of foreign invasions, Americans quit caring about maintaining a military. Inventions such as the steamship effectively shrank the world, drawing us closer to Europe through technological means. Yet Americans wanted to stay the hell out. The America First movement of 1940 was a great example. The membership included both radical right-wingers and radical left-wingers, and began from the presupposition that President Roosevelt was either exaggerating or lying when he spoke of the looming Axis menace. But the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor proved Roosevelt right. It's interesting to note that when the next looming menace - the Soviet Union - appeared after World War Two, there was no talk of isolationism involved.

3. The Cutting Edge
World War One brought the submarine, the warplane, the tank, and chemical warfare. Although the submarine, the warplane, and the tank would all undergo further development and be used in World War Two, at least the world was spared further chemical war. Of course, World War Two brought the atomic bomb. Still, the nastiest and most chilling aspect of World War Two was the simple, brutish cruelty demonstrated by the combatants. The Germans actively practiced genocide against Jews, Poles, and other conquered nationalities. The Soviets practiced ethnic cleansing upon their own people. The United States sent Japanese-American citizens to interment camps. The Germans, Japanese, and Soviets all worked prisoners of war to death. Frighteningly, it's not so much the technology that kills - it's the good old fashioned human evil.

4. The Greatest Generation?
My parents were kids during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Maybe your parents belonged to this generation too; more likely, your grandparents did. Regardless, Americans born in the years between the two World Wars have lived through more history than any other generation. It's easy for us who were born afterward to see that the Depression wouldn't last, or that the Allies would win World War Two. But back in the day, there were no guarantee America wouldn't go broke, or that the Axis would win. This generation faced poverty and rationing and the loss of loved ones, but came out on top. If you haven't had the chance to talk with a senior citizen about what these times were like, hurry up. The opportunity will not be around forever.