>>> Continued from previous message   
      
   >LL>We like to paint Nazis as being evil monsters, the same as   
      
   BK>Patton said a lot of Germans joined the Nazi party just for   
   BK>advancement.  Those who believed in it were monsters.   
      
   General Patton did not understand the German people.   
   At the time, everybody in Germany was a Nazi.  Until just   
   before the end of the war, Germans believed in Hitler and   
   his party.  They had been led to believe that the Jews   
   had simply left for new homes in Palestine.  They had been   
   led to believe der Fuhrer was keeping Germans safe from   
   those who wanted to invade their homeland.   
      
   Hitler and his National Socialist Party came to power in   
   Germany as moderates.  Not as radicals or extremists.  Germans   
   believed in Hitler, that he would bring prosperity to Germany.   
   And Hitler delivered on his promises.   
      
   Of course, what Hitler did to the Jews and others was truly   
   despicable.  But the German people did not know that, at least   
   not until well after the war was over.   
      
   Even today, Germans will ask Americans, "Why did you bomb   
   our cities?"  "Why did you bomb our schools?"  "What did we   
   do to you that was so evil?"   
      
   War itself is evil.  We kill others to teach others that   
   killing is evil.  Go figure.   
      
   >LL>we like to paint Japanese of that time as being evil   
   >LL>monsters. However, American soldiers also did much the same   
   >LL>thing, raping women and killing prisoners, along with   
   >LL>taking "souvenirs" of gold teeth, etc., back home.   
      
   BK>Not near as much. No where near as much.   
      
   How do you know?  Were you there?  I had an uncle who was.   
   He did not like talking about what our soldiers did in the   
   Pacific.  In fact, he was quite ashamed, being an American.   
   War does things to people.  People do things they otherwise   
   would not do.  Seeing your friends and comrades getting   
   shot or blown to bits is a very unsettling matter.  And yet   
   our soldiers had to continue doing their jobs, day after   
   day, never knowing when there turn would be up.   
      
   >LL>War is hell, and nothing to be proud of.  No people should   
   >LL>be ostracized because of past events, or because of a   
   >LL>military gone wild.   
      
   BK>Nor should Iran. OTOH, Saudi Arabia has not yet stopped being evil.   
      
   I met a Saudi Arabian guy some years back.  Nice guy.  A   
   construction engineer, he needed my help in a course he was   
   taking.  He had a paper he needed to turn in, but he did not   
   know how to type.  So I typed it for him.  For free.  Was   
   that evil, for the Saudi to cheat by having somebody else   
   type the paper for him?   
      
   OTOH, maybe I was the one who was evil.  I could have typed   
   the paper in gibberish and he never would have known ...   
      
   --Lee   
      
      
    * SLMR 2.1a * All hail the Higher Order!   
      
   --- Maximus 3.01   
    * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.mooo.com (3:800/432)