The First World War was originally called the Great War. “The war to end all wars.” Of course the Second World War, larger and more deadly, followed quickly. And in the aftermath Harry S Truman renamed the War Department the Department of Defense.
I suppose the late 1940s must have been a woke era. At least “woke” is what it is called today as the department name is changed back. 1
Does it matter? They are just words. But then the words have been becoming reality. This week another school shooting. An assassination.
Will we wake up?
The victors in the First World War brought retribution. But the result was only greater violence. Truman, who fought in the first, led the end of the second, changed the course of history. He set aside war. Not for weakness, but a refusal to be the aggressor. And this word became reality in the Marshal Plan2, literally rebuilding enemies.
The work enabled the conquered to become strong3 and through the process these nations became our allies.
Our actions always beget more of the same. Violence begets more violence. But help, hope, kindness, love… Will we open our eyes to this truth?
Our Family just toured the Truman Presidential Library — it was fantastic.
- The name was changed because the country “decided to go woke.” — Link to Article ↩︎
- The Marshal Plan focused on Europe (13 billion, equivalent to 180b today), but the similar plan was implemented in Japan (2 billion – 26b today). — Wikipedia, ChatGPT did the Math to find today’s value. ↩︎
- For decades the top four economies in the world were the US, USSR, and our enemies in WW2: Japan and Germany. This only changed at the turn of the millennium with China and then India’s rise. — Wikipedia ↩︎
PLUNGE47 