Good evening, Lowell... Lowell C. Savage wrote:
> Good evening, Dave! > > Hmm... I went looking for the quote and found that it was actually Karl > Marx (apparently stealing from Hegel and Engels)!! "History always > repeats > itself, the first time as tragedy, and the second as farce." Like they > say, > even a stopped clock is right twice a day. For a little more about the > origins, see this link and scroll down to the last comment on 12 Aug 2003. > > http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/08/09/index.php My goodness, Lowell! That is quite a dandy resource you have there. I am utterly *dazzled* at the origin of the quotation, however. Do you hear that rumbling in the distance? I think that's Hegel and Engels rolling over in their graves... ;-) > I'm not sure that's quite what Santanya (or Marx) meant. I do think the > parallels between WW II and WW IV quite appropriate. And the tragedy and > farce do apply (although perhaps not has you are suggesting.) > > In both wars, America was attacked by one nation (or organization, if you > wish to separate al Qaida from the Taliban) and made the main effort of > its war against another which had little or nothing to do with the > original attack. > > In both wars, the reason for going after the other country with more > resources was that it had the potential to create an atomic bomb. > > In both wars, you had a country that had been defeated and had agreed to > certain restrictions on its military as part of the cease-fire. > > In both wars, you had the previously defeated country flout the > restrictions. The difference was that the second time around, someone had > learned from history and behaved differently. (Hitler later admitted that > if his remilitarization of the Ruhr had been opposed "by so much as a > platoon," he would have been forced to withdraw). > > In both wars, the US fought against suicide tactics. > > In both wars, the French were on both sides. (OK, so I'm giving them the > benefit of the doubt by saying that they might sorta be on our side > somewhere this time around. :-) > > In both wars, there were complaints that we had "won the war but are now > losing the peace." > > In both wars, there was a strong "peace movement" which went quiet in the > US after the surprise attack. > > For a historian's perspective of what is currently being repeated, see: > http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson022803.asp Once again! I'll have to take some additional time tomorrow and study this in greater detail, as I am simply exhausted after a marathon 80+ hour week of work. However, this is fascinating! I promise to return later. Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 11/24/2004 Usenet news server : news://news.kharma.net Fortune Random Thought For the Minute Chemicals, n.: Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
