Madison Rambles #14: World War I, II, and never III
Hello, everyone!
Yesterday was my birthday, where I mostly took the day off, so I am now rushing to get this post done on time. If it seems rushed, I apologize. But I don't want to be late again.
Today, I'm talking about the eras of human history that everyone is both fascinated by and scared by, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Although we love to research them, some parts are uncomfortable to read, especially when reading about World War II.
But today, I will be talking about those parts of human history, fascism, and the modern world.
This will be Chapter 20.
Here's a brief rundown of some of the hardest moments in human history.
World War I starts, known at the time as the Great War. The book claims that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the cause, but in reality, historians argue over the true cause. Britain and Germany fought along with other countries, including America and Japan on Britain's side, but it ends up being a stalemate due to the trenches strategy. Eventually, Germany surrendered, and Britain won, but both sides were considerably weakened.
Soon, the Great Depression happens, and the economy crashes. Banks closed, economists on Wall Street committed suicide, and everyone suffered from arguably the worst economic disaster in human history. Germany most notably had an economy that was so inflated, people burned money for warmth. This led to the election of chancellor Adolf Hitler for leader of Germany by a democratic vote, leading to World War II.
During World War II, Germany teamed up with Japan and Italy to gain territory and promote fascism. This was wrong for many reasons, so most of the world teamed up to defeat them. The United States most notably joined due to the attack on Pearl Harbor and ended their war with Japan with two nuclear bombs, killing over 100,000 people in seconds. Eventually, the war ended in 1945, with Adolf Hitler committing suicide. Due to the two World Wars killing millions of people, counting the Holocaust, the United Nations was created to help people all across the world. The United Nations still goes on to this day.
Fascism is a word that is thrown around a lot these days. I have seen it applied to countries like the United States, but I feel that is inappropriate. Yes, the United States may have done things that may reflect fascist tendencies, but it is nothing compared to the fascism in Nazi Germany.
Merriam-Webster, one of the most reliable dictionaries, gives this definition to fascism:
often capitalized: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
Note the phrase, "held by a dictatorial leader." A country such as the United States is very much against a dictatorship or one government controlling everything. Even now, the news frequently criticizes the president. In a fascist society, if the leader of the country was criticized, they would most likely be arrested or even executed.
I think today, the most fascist country in the world is North Korea. They have a dictator that controls everything, from what goes into the country to the news. Tons of things in the country is propaganda. Most people even lack Internet, and those that do have a highly censored version of it.
Some think that fascist tendencies are on the rise. Is that true? Probably not. The international support for the Hong Kong riots proves that humanity has a lot of opposition to fascism today, especially in the United States. Along with the fight against white supremacists and the existence of the United Nations, it seems unlikely that fascist tendencies are on the rise on a world scale.
I can't speak for every country. Maybe somewhere out there, there is a country that is becoming much more fascist. But in terms of a worldwide scale, that is most likely not true.
That post went on longer than I expected. I guess I write more when I'm stressed!
Next time, I'll talk about a pandemic in the past. It has to be historic, so don't expect me to talk about COVID-19, swine flu, or even obesity.
Until next time!
Yesterday was my birthday, where I mostly took the day off, so I am now rushing to get this post done on time. If it seems rushed, I apologize. But I don't want to be late again.
Today, I'm talking about the eras of human history that everyone is both fascinated by and scared by, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Although we love to research them, some parts are uncomfortable to read, especially when reading about World War II.
But today, I will be talking about those parts of human history, fascism, and the modern world.
This will be Chapter 20.
Here's a brief rundown of some of the hardest moments in human history.
World War I starts, known at the time as the Great War. The book claims that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the cause, but in reality, historians argue over the true cause. Britain and Germany fought along with other countries, including America and Japan on Britain's side, but it ends up being a stalemate due to the trenches strategy. Eventually, Germany surrendered, and Britain won, but both sides were considerably weakened.
Soon, the Great Depression happens, and the economy crashes. Banks closed, economists on Wall Street committed suicide, and everyone suffered from arguably the worst economic disaster in human history. Germany most notably had an economy that was so inflated, people burned money for warmth. This led to the election of chancellor Adolf Hitler for leader of Germany by a democratic vote, leading to World War II.
During World War II, Germany teamed up with Japan and Italy to gain territory and promote fascism. This was wrong for many reasons, so most of the world teamed up to defeat them. The United States most notably joined due to the attack on Pearl Harbor and ended their war with Japan with two nuclear bombs, killing over 100,000 people in seconds. Eventually, the war ended in 1945, with Adolf Hitler committing suicide. Due to the two World Wars killing millions of people, counting the Holocaust, the United Nations was created to help people all across the world. The United Nations still goes on to this day.
Fascism is a word that is thrown around a lot these days. I have seen it applied to countries like the United States, but I feel that is inappropriate. Yes, the United States may have done things that may reflect fascist tendencies, but it is nothing compared to the fascism in Nazi Germany.
Merriam-Webster, one of the most reliable dictionaries, gives this definition to fascism:
often capitalized: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
Note the phrase, "held by a dictatorial leader." A country such as the United States is very much against a dictatorship or one government controlling everything. Even now, the news frequently criticizes the president. In a fascist society, if the leader of the country was criticized, they would most likely be arrested or even executed.
I think today, the most fascist country in the world is North Korea. They have a dictator that controls everything, from what goes into the country to the news. Tons of things in the country is propaganda. Most people even lack Internet, and those that do have a highly censored version of it.
Some think that fascist tendencies are on the rise. Is that true? Probably not. The international support for the Hong Kong riots proves that humanity has a lot of opposition to fascism today, especially in the United States. Along with the fight against white supremacists and the existence of the United Nations, it seems unlikely that fascist tendencies are on the rise on a world scale.
I can't speak for every country. Maybe somewhere out there, there is a country that is becoming much more fascist. But in terms of a worldwide scale, that is most likely not true.
That post went on longer than I expected. I guess I write more when I'm stressed!
Next time, I'll talk about a pandemic in the past. It has to be historic, so don't expect me to talk about COVID-19, swine flu, or even obesity.
Until next time!
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