Lean'n'mean
I'll Lock Up
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now, kids seem to only get a bias, fault-filled version that makes the US sound like a historical horror.
Well, it was for some.
now, kids seem to only get a bias, fault-filled version that makes the US sound like a historical horror.
some today might even be shocked at how close it was.
and return to Africa with Fay Wray.
Well, it was for some.
Not a land attack, per se, and not the Japanese, but the Gulf of Mexico was crawling with German submarines before and during the war. For a time, the Germans wreaked havoc on the ports of Galveston, New Orleans, and Mobile, sinking dozens of US ships. The war was surprisingly close to home, some today might even be shocked at how close it was.
The one highlight of my education is that we were well versed in local history, including in the pre-colonial era. My knowledge of the Iroquois Confederacy is still pretty good.
I now live in an area where the civil war was very much contested and split families into factions, particularly given the pacifist anti-slavery religions which dominated in my area- in the south. It will be interesting to see how the civil war is taught to my kids.
...In recent years, some of their proposals in the way of "encouraging balance" have revealed a rather profound ignorance of worldwide political and cultural history.
It's hard to lose a war. All of that death and destruction and for what? You don't even get to wag your weinie (or battle flag, take your pick) and proclaim "We're Number One!"
To this day believers in the Confederate cause make themselves the persecuted, the victims of the Northern aggressors. Okay. But what about that peculiar institution y'all were not only seeking to perpetuate but to spread throughout the Caribbean and beyond?
"It wasn't really about slavery." We still hear that. Seriously. It's hard to believe that people really believe it. But they say they do.
Steven Spielberg's movie 1941 was loosely based on an actual incident in which a Japanese submarine shelled two oil fields on the California coast near Santa Barbara; it's considered to be the first naval bombardment of the mainland U.S. during World War II. Being a comedy, the movie plays the entire incident for laughs and makes it difficult for anyone to believe it actually happened, but according to reports Japanese submarine I-17 did fire 16 to 25 rounds at the oil fields on February 23, 1942, most of which were wildly off-target and caused little actual damage. But the incident, and a false air raid warning over Los Angeles the next night, did lead many Californians to believe a Japanese invasion was imminent.Not a land attack, per se, and not the Japanese, but the Gulf of Mexico was crawling with German submarines before and during the war. For a time, the Germans wreaked havoc on the ports of Galveston, New Orleans, and Mobile, sinking dozens of US ships. The war was surprisingly close to home, some today might even be shocked at how close it was.
For a time, the Germans wreaked havoc on the ports of Galveston, New Orleans, and Mobile, sinking dozens of US ships.
The success of the U-Boats off the American coast was a tightly kept secret during the war. Even local papers didn't report the dead sailors washing ashore. Ostensibly, this was to keep the Germans from being sure how many casualties they were inflicting, but in truth it was to avoid harming civilian morale. Even after the war it was kept quiet so as not to conflict with the triumphalist narrative.
It's hard to lose a war. All of that death and destruction and for what? You don't even get to wag your weinie (or battle flag, take your pick) and proclaim "We're Number One!"
To this day believers in the Confederate cause make themselves the persecuted, the victims of the Northern aggressors. Okay. But what about that peculiar institution y'all were not only seeking to perpetuate but to spread throughout the Caribbean and beyond?
"It wasn't really about slavery." We still hear that. Seriously. It's hard to believe that people really believe it. But they say they do.
A good read covering some of this is "The Heart Mender" by Andy Andrews, originally released as "Island of Saints".