Blog # 4

Robert Rasmus's story directly shows how impacted the United States was by WW2. He discussed how the youth of all countries involved in the war were brainwashed. They were brainwashed to have extreme pride in their country and how horrible all the enemy countries were. The "brainwashing" that took place for the youth in many countries like the United States was important because it made the people who would be physically fighting the war overseas proud and excited to participate. I thought the part about seeing the faces of the people that had been killed was very intresting. Young boys were taught to kill the enemy as a way of defedning the country and its values, but after killing the enemy, the soldiers saw faces that were similar to them. The people they were killing and fighting against were boys just like them that were being given the same message of what was right and wrong and how bad the enemy was. Another part of the story I found interesting was that the boys were mainly fighting so they wouldn't let down their fellow soldiers. "'The reason you strom the beaches is not patriotism or bravery,' reflects the tall rifleman. 'It's that sense of not wanting to fail your buddies. There's a sort of a special sense of kinship'" (164). This shows that although the soldiers were forced or taught to have extreme patriotism and to be brave, their true feelings were within the friendships they established and that became what they fought for. I thought that it was interesting that some people found the war beneficial because of it's effect on the econmy. The economy of the United States prospered during and after the war was occurring. I think WW2 affected all people both during and after because it changed the country. It had changed the country's foreign policy because the country watched the events of the war unfold, and then was suddenly involved.