DJT,
It's too bad that the rain prevented you from going to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery yesterday. Some folks think you should have suffered the 2-hour long drive as a demonstration of the kind of endurance that the WWI soldiers had to have. I understand it's probably quite complicated. Your speech at Suresnes today was quite presidential. I liked the part where you recognized Matthew, the 8th grader who saved for 2 years so he could be in France today.
Every news outlet has stories about the lessons of the WWI for us in 2018. The CSM had several interesting pieces including one by Anna Grobe where she pointed out that the German propaganda in Belgium led to the "fake news" phenomenon we face today. She claims that we need to look back to that time to consider how we can "safeguard democracy in the digital age."
According to the WP the war could have ended in Dec, 1916, when the Germans offered to back off. The Brits and French didn't accept the offer because they wanted an apology. Alexander Lanoszka and Michael Hunzeker claim nationalism was at the heart of their rationale. They noted, "when identity faces an external threat, actors feel an intense psychological need to salvage their honor." Do you agree with their analysis? Do you think we might be over-emphasizing "nationalism" and risking war? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
I'd also be curious to know if we are succeeding in making the world "safe for democracy" as Woodrow Wilson suggested as the reason to join WWI.
It's hard to imagine a war fought from trenches where you might be killed by a sniper, by mustard gas or by catching the flu. The numbers don't help me wrap my head around what it must have been like. 8.5 million dead, 4 years of depravation - it's just a reminder that war is not the answer!!!!
So much to think about today.
Safe travels,
RCA