Street roots., October 14, 2011, Page 12, Image 12

Street roots
Oct. 14, 2011
How The Great War set the stage for too many more to come
BY COLE MERKEL
Europeans by Europeans, that yeneer of
morality totally disintegrated, transforming
ne century ago, a thin line separating Europe into the barbarous continent.
France and Germany served as the.-
Adding to the barbarous madness of total
battlefield for a four-year gridlock
war, there gras very little threat between
that cost, conservatively, 8.3 million lives Europeans before the war began. Germany
and permanently maimed, dismembered and and Britain in particular were each others’
injured some 21 million more individuals.
best trading partners and the three
World War I was touted as “the war to end
monarchs at the epicenter, Kaiser Wilhelm
all wars,” yet the debilitating conflict served
II, King George V and Tsar Nicholas II,
as a template for all future warfare, indelibly were all first cousins. The war exploded into
altering war by mechanizing it, launching it
existence when a series of secret defense .
on a global scale and distorting the
treaties, signed by these hyper-paranoid,
boundaries of what is morally acceptable on
power-hungry leaders, were called into
and off the battlefield. These are the
action. These pieces of paper plunged the
reasons World War I is important to
continent into the maelstrom of bloodshed
consider in global study; we still feel the
and gore that would steal countless lives
reverberations of those four years as we
while destroying the mainland continent
wage war to this day.
physically, industrially and politically.
Adam Hochschild writes history like it is
In the wake of this realization, it becomes
fiction, and in “To End All Wars: A Story of
nearly impossible to deny that the imperial-
Loyalty and Rebellion 1914-1918,” this
capitalist economy’s ever-expanding demand
observation is particularly true. Hochschild
forresources and labor was the source of
seamlessly threads together an account of
this infighting, which became the bloodiest
World War I in Britian by recreating stories
conflict the world had everseen. Historical
of British generals, conscientious objectors,
bias always being 20-20 in hindsight, this
authors, activists, socialists and soldiers to
observation is easier to make today than if ?
portray an England divided from within. His
would have been in 1914.
introductory section, “Dramatis Personae,”
Hochschild never sugar-coats the
portrays Britain the decade before the war
casualties or the conditions of battle. This g
riding high.on a fresh wave of Imperial
book does not present a glorification of war.
militarism, simultaneously threatened by
It describes the horrors in gruesome detail:
socialists trying to bring universal suffrage
the smells, the sounds, the excruciating
and equality. He tells these, and all stories,
pain of gangrene and trench foot, the
in the book with a deep compassion for the
writhing agony of troops suffocating through
individuals experiencing them through first­
mustard gas, and other new technologies
hand accounts and keen analysis.
that brought about this terror.
Alongside these individual stories, '
The author especially contrasts the
Hochschild splices historical analysis of
soldiers’ experiences (andthat of their
battlefield methodology, .the implementation families) in the war with the commander,
of industrial war technologies and the public Douglass Haig who from his comfortable
and political reactions to the war in Britain,
French villa foresaw unconditional victory as
Germany, Russia and France. At the heart
the sole outcome to the war and sent •
m4itMlls^h|t^^.argum enl^
^fthliofl s .of ooldiwQrao if thdiywti'i p aw
ws*—
critique of Imperialism. A^ecade earlier,
to their deaths. Surprisingly, a higher
bombing and shooting civilians had not only
percentage of British officers lost their lives
been acceptable but actively practiced in the in World War I than their soldiers. In spite
“moral” partition of Africa. Suddenly, when
of these statistics, Haig and his
the industrial weaponry was turned on *1
Counterparts were still hell-bent on
8
STAFF W R IT E R V
®
To End All Wars:
A Story of Loyalty
and Rebellion
1914-1918 by
Adam Hochschild
destroying the lives of citizens in the name
of national honor. Hochschild painfully “
recounts this total disconnect between
reality and the commanders calling the
shots.
The Treaty of Versailles did little to
ensure peace on: the continent; the
humiliation Germany was subjected to by
being forced to accept blame for cause of
the war/the reparation payments the
country was forced to pay on a decimated
The United States entered the world's stage
as Europe's Im perial light was extinguishing.
It's to our own detriment that we assumed
the position without learning lessons from
Im perialism 's demise.
economy, as well as the repatriation of
German colonies to Britain and France,
served only to accelerate the rise of Nazism
and thè outbreak Second World War. As
Hochschild argUes in his last few pages, the
destructive militarism of World War I, as
well as thé disregard for human life only
contributed to a bloodier war and
unconscionable genocide.
Perhaps the most striking effect of World
War I though, one discussed only passively
by Hochschild, is the propensity it gave the
United States to enter the stage as the
world’s police force. Not only was the U.S.’s
last-minute entry into the war a morale
booster and fresh perspective on trench
warfare, President Wilson’s participation at ;
the Paris Peace Conference allowed
America to flex it’s newfoundmuscle, not
only as àn economic superpower but a
r
■moral pe w e okoepo and-gtobal -c e nfl iet-'——-
moderator. The United States entered the '
world’s stage as Europe’s imperial light was
extinguishing. It’s to our own detriment that
we assumed the position without learning
lessons from Imperialism’s demise.
Creating a space we all can share
Come Out for Our Fam ilies!
National Coming O ut Day occassion fo r letter o f solidarity
much in common: we struggle to
access healthy food, quality education,
affordable healthcare, and housing.
Our families also face discrimination
that prevents us from thriving in our,
workplaces and our neighborhoods.
As families of color, we experience
unique challenges as we work to keep
our homes, our jobs, and our health.
BY A M Y LAM
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
n acknowledging and recognizing everyone in our
communities, this year’s Natonial Coming Out Day
will not just be a, coming out day for LBGTQ people,
but also for their supporters.-
On October 11th, more
than 30 community and
WESTERN
states
organizational leaders of color
CENTER
in Oregon signed a letter df
support to “Come Out for Our
UNITING Families.”
In part, the letter
COMMUNITIES states that “LGBT families of
color are part of the fabric of
Am y L am is the
our community and members
Development &
Communications
of our own families.
Associate a t the
Unfortunately, some of our LGBT family members do
Western States
not feel our community’s full support So, in honor of
Center, which aim s to
National Coming Out Day, we are coming out as friends,
build a progressive
movement by
family and public allies of LGBT families of color.
supporting grassroots
The campaign is spearheaded by Standing Together,
organizations. The
a project of Basic Rights Oregon, and, aims to raise the
Center’s Uniting
visibility, experiences and public support for LGBTQ
Communities project
families of color. The letter will be published this month
works with
organizations based
m Portland’s major ethnic newspapers - the Asian
in communities o f
Reporter, the Portland Observer, the Scanner and El
color to advance
Hispanic News.
LG BTQ equality.
Carmen Rubio, the executive director of the
community organization Latino Network, was one of the
signers. “You have to be visible and take a proactive
position in saying,’I support the LGBTQ members of
my community,’” said Carmen.
Since 2009, Carmen has worked with the Latino
Network to become more inclusive, and that included
participating in the Uniting Communities project at the
Western States Center, which works to help racial
I
justice and immigrant rights gioups support the
LGBTQ individuals in their communities.
“Because we are a progressive community
organization, we take it for granted that we are
inclusive, and that we are already allies. But it’s very
different to walk the walk, rather than just talking about
how we welcome everyone. ” Carmen felt that this
proactive support is a good first step.,
’ ¿“The Western States Center’s program showed us
that we needed to be intentional about being ihclusive
sb'we started taking action on making sure that we are
there for all members of qur community,” said Carmen.
“We shouldn’t just start a ‘gay rights program,’ because
this wbrk needs to be intrinsic in our mission and the
values. Uniting Communities showed us how much we
did not know, and it felt good to be thoughtful about our
next steps to learn the needs of our community.”
One of Latino Network’sboard members is an openly
gay Latino. ”It had a huge impact on me when I learned
that he shared his story in our Latino leadership
academy. These folks are essentially strangers to him,
and I really respected his bravery and willingness to
share his personal story to help build awareness within
our community about the experiences of LGTBQ
Latinos,” said Carmen, “For him, as the son of Latino
immigrants, and a gay man, I’ve started to realize what
a fine balance he is trying to find to retain both parts of
his identity. There was this whole other dimension in
his life that I don’t think we fully appreciate at Latino
Network all the time.”
The letter of support, at right, on National Coming
Out Day is much more than words on a page — it’s
about creating spaces so that everyone in our
communities will feel comfortable come out and be
their whole selves.
We believe all our families have so
These struggles affect Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
(LGBT) families of color in very unique
ways. LGBT families of color are part
of the fabric of our community and
members of our own families.
Unfortunately, some of our LGBT
family members do not feel our
community’s full support. So, in honor
of National Coming Out Day on
October 11,2011 we are coming out
as friends, family and public allies of
LGBT families of color.
We believe our communities are
strongest when all families - extended
families, multi-generational families,
single-parent families and LGBT
families - have the resources, respect
and love they need to thrive.
We believe it’s tim e to come out in
support of all our families. Join usl
Read the list of signees at
ww w.basicrights.org/ourfam fe.