The War

Tonight is the first night I haven't watched Ken Burns's documentary The War. I learned a shit load of stuff about World War II, much more than I learned in high school. It was also the most devistating film I have seen in a long time. I had heard WWII stories from family members from my family (and Jaybee's too) my entire life. This film made it so real I felt everyone's pain, pride, fear and relief. So basically the War sucked. It sucked hardcore. The home front was asked to sacrifice many things and everyone did their part willingly. While many, many things were horrible about The War here is my list of


5 Things That Didn't Suck About WWII

1) The Arts- the arts always get good in times of strife. Just think about some of the music and movies made during this time period. They are some of the best ever.

2) Fashion- everyone looked so good back then. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was all the men in uniform. I loved the women's make-up from then too.

3) The Road To Equality-there were no men left to work the factory jobs so women went to work. It was their patriotic duty. Well, we all know where this lead. Women found fulfillment outside the home. Blah, blah, blah. Sixty years later we have a woman running for president. The African American experience was a bit different. They fought and finally found some acceptance in the military and that all went to hell when they got home. Many of them returned to a still segregated South. There was still a lot to do.

4) Economy- nothing jump starts an economy like going to war , except if your President is George W Bush and the war is with Iraq. The post war boom was quite astonishing. It made the country's memories of The Great Depression fade. I also had a set of grandparents who remembered The Depression very well, so I heard plenty of those stories too.

5) Technology- science had to advance, lives depended on it. You could make the argument that it went a bit too far. The bomb was a really mixed thing.