Posted On: Thursday - June 6th 2019 8:48AM MST
In Topics: History Dead/Ex- Presidents
Peak Stupidity, with an interest in history*, but not actually being a history site, has been very inconsistent in observing or memorializing important dates, especially right on the same day, and not 4 months later. It will probably remain that way, even with our great interest in the events that have resulted in the high stupidity levels we live under today.
We will at least observe today the 75th anniversary of the start of the WWII "D-Day" invasions of 5 different beachheads on the Normandy coast of France. The weather had been not good enough for the landings and air support on the planned days before, but June 6th, 1944 is when this went down. You can read the history plenty of other places, but as to the magnitude of the effort and the glories and hell of war, we'll just let President Reagan talk about it.
Going back just under 1/2 way to the D-Day date (47% of the way), America was still a serious country then. We had a President who could act and speak with dignity, and not commemorate an event with a 140-character tweet.
There is plenty the history-minded reader could argue about, whether WWII would have happened if President Wilson had not urged Americans into WWI, whether WWII could have been avoided anyway with diplomacy rather than reflexive militarism, and whether the US should have been involved even then.
One could also give Peak Stupidity some grief about President Reagan. No, he didn't fight in this war. As President, was he just too naive and trusting of the opposition in the US Congress, causing the beginning of the huge budget deficits (they'd promised to cut welfare spending as military spending was increased to end the Cold War) and resulting in his signing of the 1st in a series of illegal-alien amnesties (when promised the border would then be controlled)? Was he compromised already from the time of that .22 shot that ended up 1" from his heart in 1981?
Sure, one could argue all of that. That doesn't change the situation at all for an Army Ranger 75 years ago today that came on the beach among heavy fire and rope-climbed up the steep bluff to establish a base in France for fighting the Nazis. The war in Europe ended just about 1 year later, after General Patton's 3rd Army rolled across France and Germany to Berlin.
I'll listen to Old Ronnie's words again later. Let's try to lways remember this history.
* "And History is interested in us" or something like that.
Comments:
Moderator
Thursday - June 6th 2019 10:47AM MST
PS: Agreed!
BernCar
Thursday - June 6th 2019 9:40AM MST
PS: May God bless the eleven-bravos, past and present. I hope that our leaders keep our people out of needless wars (which are most of them).