I have lately begun to think that the world is in the greatest danger since the 1930s, but that no one in authority today has anywhere near the stature of anyone back then.
The stature of whom, though? Churchill had little power for most of the 1930s. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini had stature in spades--well, Mussolini did if you read the right sources--but can hardly be who you're thinking of. Yes, Roosevelt, but also numbers of the second-rate in France, the UK, and elsewhere.
I've been reading a lot of nonfiction and history from between the wars and I'm in agreement. Nobody seems to care or, more forebodingly, nobody WANTS to care.
Churchill may not have been in power, but he was speaking out. George Marshall was named Army Chief of Staff in 1939. MacArthur and De Gaulle and Eisenhower were waiting in the wings as it were. My point is that I see no one around anywhere of this caliber today.
I share your thinking. This time, though, the weapons and attitudes in the world could lead us to the endgame. Perhaps John of Patmos was right.
ReplyDeleteThat thought has crossed my mind, too.
ReplyDeleteThe stature of whom, though? Churchill had little power for most of the 1930s. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini had stature in spades--well, Mussolini did if you read the right sources--but can hardly be who you're thinking of. Yes, Roosevelt, but also numbers of the second-rate in France, the UK, and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot of nonfiction and history from between the wars and I'm in agreement. Nobody seems to care or, more forebodingly, nobody WANTS to care.
ReplyDeleteChurchill may not have been in power, but he was speaking out. George Marshall was named Army Chief of Staff in 1939. MacArthur and De Gaulle and Eisenhower were waiting in the wings as it were. My point is that I see no one around anywhere of this caliber today.
ReplyDelete