The Answerer

The writer of this blog (Me - Peter Harris) is still ‘obsessed’ with World War Two (WW II).

I was in school during the six years of that terrible war when fifty-two million (52 m.) people died. Around half were civilians, from hunger and cold. The death and the utter waste are still seared into many living people’s minds.

Why did it happen?

Thousands of books have been written. The essential fact is that a leader, a dictator, can get the idea that he can rule the world because ’his mob’ are better than the rest and “God has told me that my mission is to dominate the world because we are the best, the most suitable people to rule the world.” That’s what they think.

Some are, or have been, mad.

The truth of what was really behind wars only comes out 30, 40 or 50 years after it all ends. The families of the dead and wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen and their families pay the true price for many years.

Countries only go to war to get something – in the current wars; it is oil, coal, uranium, copper or iron ore. In other words things that make them money, or racial hatred is at the bottom of some of it.

The commandments: “Do not lie, Do not steal, Do not envy your neighbour’s goods or anything he has,” are all broken here. Australia is NOT innocent in this oil business. Neither are Britain and many other First World countries.

How did they get so rich in the first place? Slavery and looting of Africa’s, India’s and Asia’s natural resources was a start.

It is getting better very slowly. The world-wide-web is helping the ‘poor nations’ understand what the ’rich’ countries have done to them in the past. I like that idea. Now the poor are fighting back.

Note that a little war can start over a stolen rubber.