USA Transnational Report Whether it’s a worldwide conflict or a relatively contained regional conflict, the parallels between today and the 1930s and 1940s are hard to miss Most people spend Halloween dressed up and trying to find or create some fright. Instead, I watched the 1942 war documentary Prelude to War, directed by the legendary Frank Capra. Considering what is going on in the world today, and all the parallels between then and now, it was scary enough. As you watch the movie (52 minutes), think about our challenges today. https://youtu.be/KniXvfsBavM While watching Capra’s propaganda masterpiece, consider some of the parallels between their time and ours:
- Like the Nazis, ISIS (and all Islamist groups) are anti-Semitic, anti-Christian death cults intent on conquering the world. Just a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu reminded the world that the Muslim Brother and father of Palestinian nationalism, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was an eager Nazi collaborator.
- Like America of the 1930s, today’s public is war-weary with isolationist tendencies. As the Americans of the 1930s and early 1940s largely ignored the plight of the Chinese, the Ethiopians, and the Jews, Americans today are mostly ignoring the plight of people across the Middle East and North Africa, and the ongoing Christian genocide.
- Like the society of the 1930s, America is in a deep depression. The Obama administration shares President Roosevelt’s views on government interference with the free market. As such, the depression continues and Americans continue to get poorer.
- Like the Roosevelt administration, the Obama administration has cut and slashed the military. The U.S. Army has the smallest budget since 1940, and the Navy has the fewest number of ships since 1917. For some context, under Reagan, the Navy had nearly 600 ships.
- Like Americans of the 1930s and early 1940s, there is strong denial and naivety regarding our enemies intentions. Fourteen years after 9/11, most of the population does not take the claims made by the Islamists claims seriously: that they do want to conquer the world in the name of Islam, and convert the kufar (i.e. infidel) to Muslim.
- Like the Nazi Germans, ISIS uses child soldiers and powerful narcotics to support their war effort.
- Like the League of Nations, the United Nations will not do anything material to mitigate the threat, stop terrorism, or stand up firmly for human rights.
- Like the 1930s and 1940s, there is a very clear choice between GOOD and EVIL.
- Like America of the 1940s, the United States has potentially great, if unsavory and imperfect, allies in Russia and China.
- Finally, like it was them, it comes down to a choice between US or THEM.