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Not a valid analogy. The allies were trying to beat a fascist autocracy that had just ravaged multiple countries and committed heinous war crimes with no indica
by hnracer 6y ago
Not a valid analogy. The allies were trying to beat a fascist autocracy that had just ravaged multiple countries and committed heinous war crimes with no indication of having a willingness to slow their pursuit. That's in no way comparable to the current situation of Iran building a nuke to deter or obliterate Israel.
- 737min 6y agoAre you aware of what Iran has been up to in the region? Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Gaza..
- hnracer 6y agoYes and that's exactly my point... Iran building a nuke to counter Israel is not morally equivalent to the US building a nuke to counter the axis powers.
- justicezyx 6y agoAsk a Palestinian, their view will be different. If you believe that majority (just become more people are influenced through media with the same view as yours) can force a political view onto a minority, then I think we need a more serious talk on whether or not you might find a better life in China or Iran. I am serious here. Do not think I intend to mock you. Rule by majority is not what I approve for myself to live in US.
- justicezyx 6y agoWell, who did the things first to destabilize the region?
- csunbird 6y agoOh, come on, history is written by the victors. I am not saying that they have not did bad things, but if Germany had won, they would say the same about U.S., who, just as a reminder, dropped two nuclear bombs in civilian cities. Both sides thought what they were doing was right and there is always a way to justify the means. Disclaimer: I am from a country which was neutral during the WW2. Edit: Here is the thing, I do not want this to become a "Who is the most evil?" thread, so I will not be responding except for this edit (I suggest everyone to do the same). The point of this comment was that, public perspective is something that can easily be manipulated. The phrase "History is written by the victors." means exactly that. I just wanted to mention that Germany would use the example I gave to justify their actions "Wow they are evil. see what they did?". One should always be mindful where they are standing and check if they are being manipulated or not. If this comment starts a flame war, dang, please feel free to delete the whole thread.
- sir_bearington 6y agoSure Germany would have said they were the good guys. The difference is in what they did: seek out to exterminate tens of millions of Slavs, Jews, and other groups they considered inferior. I get that it's important to see history from multiple points of view, but this idea that "Both sides thought what they were doing was right and there is always a way to justify the means" is just unabashed moral relativism.
- whimsicalism 6y agoBut we didn't even need the nuclear bomb to beat the Germans.
- sir_bearington 6y agoTrue, but the nuclear bomb's original target was Germany and the parent comment was referring to Germany. Much of the same observations can be made about the Empire of Japan. I'm sure Imperial Japanese soldiers earnestly believed their subjugation of China and other mainland powers was just, but that doesn't alter it's depravity. There's value to be had in honestly recognizing that if I was born in Japan or Germany during the 1920s I'd probably have turned out just like the people I'm criticizing. But we also have to have conviction in what is good and what is evil.
- whimsicalism 6y ago> doesn't alter it's depravity. The holocaust was bad, but it's going to be a hard stretch to justify what we did in Japan because of the depravity of their soldiers in China. I have a conviction that that was an evil, evil, evil thing to do.
- sir_bearington 6y agoAn order of magnitude fewer people died in the atomic bombings than did in the conventional land advance into Germany. Japan had a larger population and more mountainous terrain suitable for defense. Japan intended to expend tens of millions of its own people's lives in operation Ketsugō. Between letting the Empire of Japan continue to exist without reform, a conventional invasion, and the atomic bombings the last option was by far the most humane. I don't know what you're going with this line of discussion, but this over-emphasis on the atomic bombings are a common talking point among Japanese apologists and nationalists to try and depict Japan as a victim rather than an aggressor. The atomic bombings, combined, claimed fewer lives than several individual conventional strategic bombing campaigns in both Germany and Japan.