Looking both ways.
In the world of Vera Brittain her country and the world for that matter was involved in a war that they did not totally understand. All anyone knew at the time was that they were involved in a war that was justified because their right to be English was in danger. It was only long after the war had ended was it that anyone even thought to wonder why so many had died. After 9/11 we found ourselves in Afghanistan fighting men then wanted us dead. Before long there was talk of invading Iraq. In modern day Iraq we have thousands of American soldiers fighting a war that was started on the bases of false information. The core reason most Americans were for the war was the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction which we did not find. Now we find ourselves at a great cross road.
For the English of 1913 the main problems in their strategies and general approach to the war were their misunderstanding of the Germans. In fact WWI could be called a war of misunderstandings. Again, today I think much of our problems in Afghanistan and Iraq stem from a general misunderstanding we have of their culture or perhaps it is a lack of understanding. A article the accentuated the cultural gap is called Hamid and the Giant Purple Lizard. In it a solder tries to explain the concept of faith to an Afghanistan citizen named Hamid. Hamid never fully understands what he is getting at. Now it would be foolish to think that there is not some type of cultural gap when a concept as basic as faith is not shared between peoples.
Throughout History one main characteristic of Warring States is their lack in cultural exchange. Drop books instead of bombs? Radio broadcasts instead of bullets? Maybe one day it will be a question of what books, and what channels to watch, or what movies to watch. Here is looking forward to then.
Filed by whitepe at February 6th, 2008 under Uncategorized
I find it interesting that one of the greatest wars in history can be simply called a misunderstanding. When we look back on the recent conflicts in the Middle East are we also going to be able to refer to them as a misunderstanding in my opinion the answer is no however, I feel that most of American society would say yes. There is a major culture difference in societies throughout the world and having a better understanding of the different cultures could relate in less conflict. I also think it was interesting that you concluded your blog by stating, “throughout history one main characteristic of Warring States is their lack in cultural exchange. Drop books instead of bombs? Radio broadcasts instead of bullets? Maybe one day it will be a question of what books, and what channels to watch, or what movies to watch.” While you do make an excellent point I do not believe that in our life time, or our children’s life time, or even there children’s life time we will be asking the question of what books, and what channels or movies to watch.