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80th Anniversary of World War II

 In principle the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is an excellent opportunity to revisit the misinformation and myths that many Americans subscribe to.   Larry Johnson has done a good job of that at sonar21.com .  I hope many more writers take on the myth.

After 80 years it would be so nice if America finally said, "Why are we still in NATO?  Let the Europeans run NATO."

But of course powerful lobbies want to keep the gravy flowing.  So the post-World War II American empire will linger on.  Still, I want to cling to a little bit of hope that the 80th anniversary will have some effect on how Americans think.

Doing an internet search of iconic World War II photos seemed like a good idea.  Here is the photo that captures the myth better than any other:


It  is natural for a Baby Boomer like me to relate to this photo.  It reminds us how coterminous we were with the American Empire.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I don't see the American empire in that picture at all. This is a soldier, any soldier, who finally sets foot on his native land, safe and sound, and grabs the first pretty woman he sees for that is what soldiers everywhere, and at any time, are fighting for. Home and hearth and you don't get that without a woman and only if you can give her some safety in order to raise the kiddos and perpetuate the species.
Yes to all of that. But I think the photo invokes the mood of hubris and overconfidence that America left the war with.
Barb in FL said…
Too many untruths were told and left for the liars to promulgate and here we are. Time for the whole truth to be told. 80 years. Wish I could talk to my parents and grandparents. Sad how I just didn't know what questions to ask when they were still alive and could remember things.
Bill said…
What a myopic view of world aggression. NATO exists to prevent the aggressions of WWII. Had Ukraine been a member Putin would have been less likely to invade.