The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest in the history of the world up to that point. Sherman's march through the south was devastating--every field of crops, building, village, and city burned to the ground in the wake of his path. We Americans are quite familiar with the suffering and carnage and hell of war.
Ok, I have to admit, it were only 20,000,000 in present day EU countries (if you also count the victims of the Spanish civil war).
Yes, I do see. You want to play a numbers game. You are saying that you Europeans have suffered so much and therefore we Americans just don't understand you.
The only reason you Europeans haven't continued to kill millions over the past 60 years is the presence of American troops in your country. But don't worry, those American troops will be gone sometime over the next 10 years. Let us hope that your great suffering will have given you some sense of maturity not to repeat your past predilections.
"The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest in the history of the world up to that point. Sherman's march through the south was devastating--every field of crops, building, village, and city burned to the ground in the wake of his path. We Americans are quite familiar with the suffering and carnage and hell of war."
Ok, maybe my irony didn't work in this case. I apologize. I actually took a course on the American Civil in unversity, so I actually studied the history of the civil war a bit (we also read a few novels like "The Red Badge of Courage"). And you are right, it was bloody.
I'll give you an example of what I mean: When my father was 9 years old, he and my grandparents fled to the countryside, because in 1944 basically every city was burnt to the ground. Unfortunately some Waffen-SS idiots still continued to fight for a lost cause, so he had to witness American soldiers and said Germans killing each other on the streets from his hinding place in the cellar.
My father fervently hates the French, because he had to grow up in the French-occupied zone, and everybody there could see how much better off those in the American and British zone were. While the French were dismantling the last factories, American soldiers distributed chocolate among children. But despite all the negative feelings towards the French he still prefers having the European Union. Why? Because he had to witness the killings at the age of nine.
And yes, I am quite aware that Germany brought this on itself. The biggest enemy of the German people was actually Hitler himself.
And no, I don't wanna compare numbers. I just wanted to be sarcastic.
"Yes, I do see. You want to play a numbers game. You are saying that you Europeans have suffered so much and therefore we Americans just don't understand you."
Most Americans don't, just as most Germans and other Europeans don't understand the inner workings of the U.S.. Personally I find this tragic.
" The only reason you Europeans haven't continued to kill millions over the past 60 years is the presence of American troops in your country. But don't worry, those American troops will be gone sometime over the next 10 years. Let us hope that your great suffering will have given you some sense of maturity not to repeat your past predilections."
That is pure nonsense. I am too young to "have suffered" anyway, just as you probably haven't partaken in the Civil War. Again: My sarcasm was out of place, apologize. BUT: Different peoples made different experiences - and these experiences play into the decisions politicians make. The main reason for that stupid anti-americanism here in Europe, was above all, LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. Just like with those prejudices about Europe on the other side of the Atlantic... but that's exactly why I find it better to talk to each other.
"But don't worry, those American troops will be gone sometime over the next 10 years. Let us hope that your great suffering will have given you some sense of maturity not to repeat your past predilections."
That would be most regrettable. Although Germany doesn't NEED American army bases for finacial reasons, the vast mayority of the people that live close to these installations WANT their neighbors and friends to stay. Practically all of the American soldiers I spoke to also prefer Germany to Romania anyway ;-).
To be fair, Europe has much, much more history than America. As such, they do have more experience with wholesale bloodshed than we do. You're taking a strange tack here. You seem to think wolf is trying to play the US down when all he is doing is stating a fact. Taken on the whole, we have NOT suffered through war as much as Europe. The reasons for said wars are beside the point. Why can you not accept this? It doesn't denegrate America in any way. Seriously, what's the big deal? So what if we haven't been through as much bloodshed as Europe? How is that a bad thing? We chould be thanking God for it, not being angry when someone points it out.