posted
Here is an anti-war song, written and sung by the British in protest to that Empire's wars around the turn of the century. The song was revived for WWI. It then became "Americanized," and was used to protest the USA being engaged in the WWI.
I didn't raise my son to be a soldier I brought him up to be my pride and joy Who dares to put a musket on his shoulder To shoot another mother's darling boy Why should he fight in someone else's quarrels It's time to throw the sword and gun away There would be no war today If the nations all would say No I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
I didn't raise my son to be a soldier To go fighting in some far-off foreign land He may get killed before he's any older For a cause that he will never understand Why should he fight another rich man's battle While they stay at home and while their time away Let those with most to lose Fight each other if they choose For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
I didn't raise my son to be a soldier To go fighting heathens round the Horn If God required to prove that boys are bolder They'd have uniforms and guns when they were born Why should we have wars about religion When Jesus came to teach us not to kill Do Zulus and Hindoos Not have the right to choose For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
I didn't raise my son to be a soldier I raised him up to be a gentleman To find a sweet young girl and love and hold her Bring me some grandchildren when they can Why can't we decide that the Empire Is just as large as it requires to be And I'd rather lose it all Than to see my laddie fall For I didn't raise my son to be a soldier
Djehuti Member # 6698
posted
quote:Originally posted by mocking bird: Here is an anti-war song, written and sung by the British in protest to that Empire's wars around the turn of the century. The song was revived for WWI. It then became "Americanized," and was used to protest the USA being engaged in the WWI.
And if the Americans followed that advice during WWII we would all be speaking German and many of us would be dead including Muslims!
mocking bird Member # 10937
posted
Had the Germans won World War I there would have been no Russian Revolution, no World War II, no Hitler, no Holocaust, no Cold War. Instead of all that, a mild form of 19-century imperialism would have persisted and Germany would have been a cultural and military world power.
mocking bird Member # 10937
posted
TAKI'S TOP DRAWER
WWI: What If?
Michael Howard, or Sir Michael Howard to give him his due, is one of Britain’s best living military historians. He is also a strategic thinker who writes wittily and in a concise manner. His latest work, The First World War, due in July, is an introduction to the Great War–as World War I is known in Europe–designed for those with no previous knowledge of the subject. At 176 pages it is an easy and pleasurable read, if one agrees with the premise. Which I certainly don’t. Keeping in mind that history is written by the victors, I was nevertheless shocked to see that a double standard where the British Empire is concerned is doing very well, thank you.
About five years ago I had the idea to write a "What If" history about that great disaster, and contacted my friend George Szamuely. I needed a collaborator, as the high life does at times intrude where hard work is concerned. I also rang another friend, Lewis Lapham of Harper’s, and asked whether he was interested in running a segment or two. He told me to go ahead. Well, you know how these things are. George and I are not known for burning the midnight oil, and while we kicked the idea around, still another friend, Niall Ferguson, beat us to it. (Ferguson knocked it off while in the middle of writing a two-volume history of the Rothschilds; talk about industry.) With the publication of Michael Howard’s opus, however, I can finally have my say.
According to Howard, the first great catastrophe of the 20th century was Germany’s international ambition. "German unification had created a nation that combined the most dynamic economy in Europe with a regime that in many respects had hardly emerged from feudalism." Shock, horror! The Kaiser sought for his nation the status "not only of a Great Power, but of a World Power." Now I ask you: Isn’t it the most natural of things that a nation with the most dynamic economy in Europe would seek an equivalent status internationally? England enjoyed such a status, lording it over half the world through its empire, but what was good enough for the English bulldog was apparently not good for the German shepherd.
Ten million lives later, the Franco-British had prevailed, but only once the American Expeditionary Force had come to the rescue. The fact that the Germans threw in the towel with their army intact and in France is still argued by historians. Some insist that the British blockade on the German people was the turning point. Others attribute the collapse to military prowess. I am of both minds. The internal moral collapse of the Kaiser’s society had a lot to do with it. The British, as always, were propagandists par excellence. The Kaiser’s soldiers did no more barbecue Belgian babies–as contemporary propaganda claimed–than the Brits, but it was the German army that got the credit for barbarism. Which brings me to the point I wish to make.
What would have happened had Germany won the war? For starters, the most philo-Semitic nation in Europe, Germany, would have remained so. Six million Jews would not have disappeared, as Hitler would have remained a failed artist and nothing more. The dynasties would have survived, which means there would have been no communism with its 20 to possibly 100 million victims. Hungary would not have been chopped up by Romania and Slovakia and Yugoslavia would not have become the unnatural federation it became. The Ottoman Empire would have lumbered along, Iraq would not have been created, nor would’ve Israel, Lebanon or Jordan. Russia would have joined the modern world–eventually. The world would have been led by England, Germany, France and the United States, and Africa would have never become the slaughterhouse it is today.
Despite all its horrors, the Brits insist there was a moral case for fighting WWI, but they would say that, wouldn’t they? Britannia did not wish Germany to spread her wings. But that was manifest destiny, pure and simple. So Hitler came to power because of the Versailles Treaty, and I guess you know the rest. Woodrow Wilson, a well-meaning man but criminally responsible for Jimmy Carter-like naivete, has a lot to answer for. Oh yes, I almost forgot, there would never have been a man called Mussolini lording it over the most pleasant land of Europe. Finally, socialism, the great cancer that has befallen us, would have remained a dream among hirsute intellectuals on the Left Bank of Paris. The struggle between good and evil that was WWII would never have taken place.
Even in the far Orient, things would have been for the better. Japan was the only combatant nation that achieved its aims by joining the Entente. It gave her a free hand to pursue her ambitions in Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese would not have been slaughtered, and Mao would have remained a chainsmoking peasant, unknown outside his village. There never would have been a Vietnam War. Sure, Churchill said the Germans are either at your throat or at your feet, but that was just war rhetoric. The Kaiser was a civilized man, as were the Germans, and had the Allies humored him and allowed Germany to pursue her destiny, we would today be living in a far, far better place.
posted
America doesn't have a draft...everyone who is in the US military, joined, by their own free will.
mike rozier Member # 10852
posted
the problem with US troops is all they think of, is pleasure and squandering money...
Djehuti Member # 6698
posted
quote:Originally posted by mocking bird: Had the Germans won World War I there would have been no Russian Revolution, no World War II, no Hitler, no Holocaust, no Cold War. Instead of all that, a mild form of 19-century imperialism would have persisted and Germany would have been a cultural and military world power.
In other words, we would all still be speaking German and many of us would still be dead!
Egyptlily Member # 3567
posted
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: [/qb]
And if the Americans followed that advice during WWII we would all be speaking German and many of us would be dead including Muslims! [/QUOTE]
Funny that you say that because when my husband gets sometimes upset about arrogance and rudeness of German people here he's telling me that they should be all happy to have been saved by the US military forces in WWII otherwise they would speak all Russian now! And actually I had too since I grew up in the East part of Germany which he finds amazing. Btw my husband is employed with the US Army and off to Iraq in two months. So he will be my news resource of what's going on in and around Bagdad for that time.
yazid904 Member # 7708
posted
The military is not just a choice but a way of life for many. Other than those seeking a military life, ther eare many who believe in defense of the country hence a reserve component.
There are financial and education incentives for that reserve component but with the present war, they have fooled people who otherwise would not join. Now its too late and people end up in Iraq. A lot of reservists thought all they had to do was show up i weekend a month and a few weeks during the summer and that was reserve duty. Now the game is different. People are locked in and are therfore called to duty. They do or ELSE they can be jailed. Perhaps if more elected officials' families went to war, they would be less willing to sacrifice others for their own battles!
The American way of life!
mike rozier Member # 10852
posted
first off, lets reveiw what a military is....
Main Entry: 1mil·i·tary Pronunciation: 'mi-l&-"ter-E Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French militaire, from Latin militaris, from milit-, miles soldier 1 a : of or relating to soldiers, arms, or war b : of or relating to armed forces; especially : of or relating to ground or sometimes ground and air forces as opposed to naval forces 2 a : performed or made by armed forces b : supported by armed force 3 : of or relating to the army
Charm El Feikh? Member # 10243
posted
now what?
mike rozier Member # 10852
posted
secondly we review this...
commander in chief n. pl. commanders in chief Abbr. CINC or C in C
1. The supreme commander of all the armed forces of a nation. 2. The officer commanding a major armed force.
posted
now we focus on the priciples of these two words..
2 entries found for dotted line. Main Entry: dotted line Part of Speech: noun Definition: a line in a legal document, esp. a contract, which is made up of dots or dashes and is meant for a signature
posted
Main Entry: 1driv·el Pronunciation: 'dri-v&l Function: verb Inflected Form(s): -eled or -elled; -el·ing or driv·el·ling /-v(&-)li[ng]/ Etymology: Middle English, from Old English dreflian; perhaps akin to Old Norse draf malt dregs intransitive senses
1 : to talk stupidly
transitive senses 1 : to utter in an infantile or imbecilic way 2 : to waste or fritter in a childish fashion - driv·el·er /-v(&-)l&r/ noun
mike rozier Member # 10852
posted
2 entries found for facts. fact Audio pronunciation of "facts" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fkt) n.
1. Knowledge or information based on real occurrences: an account based on fact; a blur of fact and fancy. 2. 1. Something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed: Genetic engineering is now a fact. That Chaucer was a real person is an undisputed fact. 2. A real occurrence; an event: had to prove the facts of the case. 3. Something believed to be true or real: a document laced with mistaken facts. 3. A thing that has been done, especially a crime: an accessory before the fact. 4. Law. The aspect of a case at law comprising events determined by evidence: The jury made a finding of fact.
Idiom: in (point of) fact
In reality or in truth; actually.
mocking bird Member # 10937
posted
Nearly 1,000 British soldiers who have gone on the run since the start of the Iraq war are still missing, the Ministry of Defence has admitted..
A total of 8,600 troops have gone absent without leave since 2003.
At the same time, lawyers specialising in military cases said they were being con-tacted by more and more service personnel wanting advice on how to avoid serving in Iraq.
posted
Main Entry: 1twad·dle Pronunciation: 'twä-d&l Function: noun Etymology: probably alteration of English dialect twattle idle talk 1 : silly idle talk : DRIVEL 2 : one that twaddles : TWADDLER
Charm El Feikh? Member # 10243
posted
well im raising 4 soldiers.
all of my kids will serve in the military.
yazid904 Member # 7708
posted
Here's the capitalistic trick, if you may.
Withold monetary aid for those seeking college help but provide it freely with enlistement in the military and voila! Money for college via the military.
Have no shame and say it is voluntary. No one has to volunteer! It works all the time!
Charm El Feikh? Member # 10243
posted
and? work and you get paid right?!
Charm El Feikh? Member # 10243
posted
my kids will all go to military college. i know COUNTLESS people who either apply for grants and squander them... get loans and part time jobs to get through college... detract from their studies through work and too much freedom to drink/sleep etc...
none of that in military school.... you work you learn.
you sound to me like someone who whines to be spoon fed.
the army are the heart of this country. if someone attacks us, they will defend us. if the fire service go on strike the green goddesses deal with fires... if the hospitals need support the army are there, if the police need back up they call the army.
posted