My point is that it is ridiculous for anyone to expect foreign leaders who had no involvement in a military campaign or other atrocity to conduct themselves as if they have responsibility for something that happened a long time ago. I suspect this mindset may even have some pathological roots, when it is found in people who have no connection to the conflict or atrocity at all. It's one thing for a World War II veteran to harbor bitterness and resentment, but if his grandchildren harbor the same bitterness and resentment then they are no different than the professional malcontents in the "Black Lives Matter" movement who run around demanding reparations for slavery. That's just my humble opinion.
Maybe if the people running governments around the world had 1/100 of the humility and decency of the average individual then less wars would start, and those that did might not last as long.
I agree with that 100%. Dwelling on a war that ended 71 years ago doesn't reinforce your point, though.
“I will never criticize a World War II veteran who may have bitterness towards the Germans or Japanese.”
Yes, I understand perfectly well that harboring anger for generations on end does not result in a better world. But neither does an absence of memory, because history tends to repeat itself (or at least rhyme, as someone once said). Japan hasn’t done what Germany has - faced up to what its culture produced 3 generations ago. Japan has studiously avoided educating its own people about the entire era - and that most definitely makes me want to walk with my back to the wall when dealing with them, as it breeds intense distrust in anyone who knows and understands history.
FDR got us into WWII, he moved the fleet to a base that was asking to be attacked. He fired the commander who told him this was a very bad idea.
Had we lost the carriers, and/or the attack targeted the oil storage facilities and subs, the war would have lasted much much longer, with many direct bombing attacks on western US cities.
Just because we eventually prevailed, with tremendous loss of life, doesn’t mean it was not a mistake on the part of FDR.