General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: How about...
Posted by:
Ken Dunn
()
Date: January 25, 2001 09:59PM
<HTML>Hi Frank,
In my opinion you have earned the right to be treated like an adult by acting like one. It works that way in life too. Age and maturity are not necessarily the same thing.
As for young people on this forum, I think they should be encouraged to join and participate in this forum. History is a gift an older generation leave to a younger generation and there is a great deal to be learned on this forum by all of us. I don’t remember who said it first, but those who don’t understand history are doomed to relive it.
The history we are dealing with here is a war that involved millions of people. Veterans from all sides participate in this forum as well as those whose families were touched by it.
That so many people who fought each other so bitterly and who suffered so greatly at the hands of each other can participate in this forum and treat each other with respect is a lesson in itself. That some cannot is also a lesson to be learned. There were atrocities committed during that war that must be remembered and absolutely must not be forgiven. On the other hand, millions participated in that war directly or indirectly and only a relative handful committed those atrocities. One of the lessons to be learned from that is that when governments go bad its people suffer for it a long time after the government is gone. Brave men who served their countries with distinction and did nothing wrong themselves are forced to pay for what their country did that was wrong by a society that prefers to think in terms of collective guilt rather than individual guilt and so are their children. In the short time I have been on this forum I have learned things about respecting other peoples culture and points of view that I probably would not have learned had I not been on this forum. This is the first time I have been exposed to so many people from so many different countries. Young people need to learn these things early if they are to avoid our mistakes.
One of the most valuable assets this forum has is its veterans. To be able to learn history from those that made it and those that learned their history directly from them is a gift. War is such a traumatic experience many veterans are unable to talk about it. This forum has a number of veterans from all sides that participate as well as a number of those that learned directly from them. Hearing their stories and thoughts on what they experienced is worth its weight in gold. There are so many knowledgeable people (veterans and non-veterans) that contribute to this forum that it is hard to believe at first. Being able to ask them questions and hear and discuss their answers is priceless. This is the true prize for us all, especially the younger generation. When the older generation is gone, the younger generation will be the authorities on what happened. The luckiest of them will be those that learned from them. That is why I would encourage the younger generation to participate here. One day they will be the older generation and how well they understand what happened before them will have a lot to do with what happens to them.
After all, if history if it is not passed on it dies with the older generation. One day it will be the younger generation who has to pass it on. The longer they are exposed to those who know what really happened, the more accurate it is going to be.
The young men and women who are responsible enough to learn and contribute to society are going to be the ones who run things when their time comes. Some of them are also going to be the veterans after the next war.
On top of all that, participation in this forum is as my generation would say, just good, clean fun and if there is one thing any younger generation needs, its good, clean fun.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
</HTML>
In my opinion you have earned the right to be treated like an adult by acting like one. It works that way in life too. Age and maturity are not necessarily the same thing.
As for young people on this forum, I think they should be encouraged to join and participate in this forum. History is a gift an older generation leave to a younger generation and there is a great deal to be learned on this forum by all of us. I don’t remember who said it first, but those who don’t understand history are doomed to relive it.
The history we are dealing with here is a war that involved millions of people. Veterans from all sides participate in this forum as well as those whose families were touched by it.
That so many people who fought each other so bitterly and who suffered so greatly at the hands of each other can participate in this forum and treat each other with respect is a lesson in itself. That some cannot is also a lesson to be learned. There were atrocities committed during that war that must be remembered and absolutely must not be forgiven. On the other hand, millions participated in that war directly or indirectly and only a relative handful committed those atrocities. One of the lessons to be learned from that is that when governments go bad its people suffer for it a long time after the government is gone. Brave men who served their countries with distinction and did nothing wrong themselves are forced to pay for what their country did that was wrong by a society that prefers to think in terms of collective guilt rather than individual guilt and so are their children. In the short time I have been on this forum I have learned things about respecting other peoples culture and points of view that I probably would not have learned had I not been on this forum. This is the first time I have been exposed to so many people from so many different countries. Young people need to learn these things early if they are to avoid our mistakes.
One of the most valuable assets this forum has is its veterans. To be able to learn history from those that made it and those that learned their history directly from them is a gift. War is such a traumatic experience many veterans are unable to talk about it. This forum has a number of veterans from all sides that participate as well as a number of those that learned directly from them. Hearing their stories and thoughts on what they experienced is worth its weight in gold. There are so many knowledgeable people (veterans and non-veterans) that contribute to this forum that it is hard to believe at first. Being able to ask them questions and hear and discuss their answers is priceless. This is the true prize for us all, especially the younger generation. When the older generation is gone, the younger generation will be the authorities on what happened. The luckiest of them will be those that learned from them. That is why I would encourage the younger generation to participate here. One day they will be the older generation and how well they understand what happened before them will have a lot to do with what happens to them.
After all, if history if it is not passed on it dies with the older generation. One day it will be the younger generation who has to pass it on. The longer they are exposed to those who know what really happened, the more accurate it is going to be.
The young men and women who are responsible enough to learn and contribute to society are going to be the ones who run things when their time comes. Some of them are also going to be the veterans after the next war.
On top of all that, participation in this forum is as my generation would say, just good, clean fun and if there is one thing any younger generation needs, its good, clean fun.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
</HTML>
