Since I didn't have a dreadful family secret or even a mystery to share I decided to write about how World War Two has influenced my writing, even though it took me so many years before I actually dared to set a story in it.
This is how I sum up at the end of the article:
I believe that one of the reasons so many people seem to be attracted to reading about that war is that it was the last time we had a clear sense of good versus evil. Every war, every confrontation we’ve had since then has been colored in shades of gray: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. During each conflict we have questioned whether we were doing the right thing by getting involved and sending young people into battle. Battles that were once between armies have turned into ugly skirmishes, rooftop snipers, civilian casualties. With World War II, everybody knew we must stop evil before it swallowed the world. Everybody was prepared to do his or her part, however small it was, and everybody had that great sense of purpose and togetherness. And of course, it is full of so many good stories because it was a time of heightened emotions, of heart-wrenching goodbyes, of ever-present danger. No corner of Europe was quite safe.
In times like ours, where there is division, uncertainty, terrorism, it is comforting to read about a period when we fought and the right side won. After 9/11, everything changed. We were no longer safe, even at home. These new conflicts that we call war are so different. Perhaps that’s why we turn to books. When war comes to small English villages, disrupting peaceful lifestyles, and even quiet and simple people do great and noble deeds, take great risks, make great sacrifices, we can relate. We like to be reassured that, in the end, good will triumph again.
This is all the more meaningful for us at this moment, isn't it? The reassurance that in the end ordinary humans will triumph and everything will be good and normal and safe again.
Stay safe. I love you all
Rhys
Rhys, I found your essay in “Private Investigations” to be quite thought-provoking. War certainly does provide a clear sense of good and evil, doesn’t it? It’s hard to imagine the reality of living through the horrors of war, but I think it’s good for us to read about that time and to know what it was like for the people who lived it. Thanks for your illuminating essay . . . .
ReplyDeleteSuch an important distinction you made, Rhys, between WWII and the wars that followed. The evil of Hitler and his attempt to take over Europe and Japan’s attack against our country and Mussolini’s fascism were all clearly on the side of bad and evil. It’s interesting how quickly this country lost sight of those clear lines with the 50s beginning in McCarthy’s wild witch hunt and the wars of confusion. WWII is a favorite period of time for my fiction reading, and it does make sense that clear battle lines plays a big part of that attraction.
ReplyDeleteI’ve tried to hold on to the thought that better times are ahead, and I do believe that. And, I hope that it isn’t the same world as before. I want us to remember not to take people for granted, especially those on the front lines of this pandemic fight. I want us to be kinder and more aware of those who need help and those who are alone and need attention.
Rhys, yesterday was the 75th anniversary of when the Canadians liberated the Dutch. We normally would have had huge celebrations of this event here in Ottawa, at the same time as our annual Tulip Festival, but this event was cancelled. Instead, our TV broadcasters showed a new government-sponsored Heritage Minute video that highlighted one Dutch girl and one Canadian soldier who met during WWII, ended up getting married, and emigrated to Canada where they raised a family of 8 children.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/JCWANopglXI
So we celebrate those WWII victories and honour those who fought for freedom.
I agree we do not honour our military's role in latter wars (Korea, Vietnam, Middle East) in the same way.
"That in the end ordinary humans will triumph and everything will be good and normal and safe again." I pray it will be so, Rhys. It's such a worrisome time. Hugs to all.
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t thought about it that way before until I read your essay, Rhys. History does inform.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right Rhys. WWII was a "clear cut" war, when everybody knew what had to be done. Such a comfort when faced with the complications and uncertainties of today.
ReplyDeleteThank you for publishing an excerpt. During hiking trips in rural England, I remember our B&B hosts asking if my parents "had served." Yes, in the Pacific. We would talk about the home front and the Americans they had encountered ("such funny chaps"). The WW2 generation is fading away, our countries no longer as closely allied.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with you, Rhys. WWII was the last unambiguous war, where you could truly see it as good versus evil.
ReplyDeleteThe one good that has come from the later wars, though, is the understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder as a legitimate and widespread problem. No longer are those who served expected to just suck it up and move on, no matter what symptoms might be experienced. We are more empathetic now to the reality that war leaves horrible scars on the psyche as well as the body.
I'm not sure war is ever ambiguous, but that's another topic.
ReplyDeleteI had four family members who served in WW2, my father, two uncles, and an aunt. I remember those days, remember rationing, my father in Navy dress uniform, my uncle who was a sailor, my uncle who was in the Army Air Corps flying B 29s, my aunt who was drummed out of the Navy along with her life partner. I have memories of putting up the flag each morning, and, with my grandmother, reciting the pledge of allegiance -- and, by the way, to the "republicans" for which it stands -- and sending my favorite fur trimmed bonnet and coat off to Mittens for Brittain. I still think Rhys got that bonnet, and I'm still resentful.
Now my question is this. What can I do now, besides staying home and avoiding infection? The answer came yesterday. A vaccine trial study will be conducted in Rochester, looking for 100 volunteers, 50 of them between 65-85. I am of that demographic, and I doubt there will be a rush to the front of the line. I offered today and am waiting for a phone call. There will be a serious Vetting to follow, and I might not qualify, but I will get tested for Covid-19 in the process.
If I were even 15 years younger and far more mobile, I would go back to work, but I'm not and I can't. Perhaps this will help in some small way, if only to show this particular vaccine is ineffective in producing antibodies.
If rejected, I think I will volunteer as a "tracer", one who follows up per phone with persons who have been near someone who has tested positive. That's more time consuming, 20 hours a week, but it's done entirely from home. The health department will provide the software and a script along with a list of people to call.
All this makes me feel useful
Good for you, Ann. I’ve been feeling helpless because I shouldn’t go out to do things and volunteer And I didn’t get your bonnet, I promise. I never owned anything with fur on it. I’d have remembered such glamor
DeleteSo you say. Humphh. It was only rabbit fur. And it was dyed blue. Unless there were blue rabbits back in the way.
DeleteUseful is good!
DeleteAnn, there was an announcement yesterday that the folks at Children's Hospital are doing the same COVID-19 trials here, and I'm seriously considering doing it, too.
DeleteSurely you meant "for the republic" for which it stands? Or are you saying it was your youthful misunderstanding? Feeling a little dense this morning.
It was the bane of my grandmother’s existence, she who was the chair of the county Democratic committee.
DeleteRhys, I am sorry to take this wonderful conversation in another direction, but yesterday I attended a Zoom symposium on the new anti-Semitism. It is totally terrifying to me, as a Jew, to see people with Swastikas and references to Auschwitz demonstrating as though they are the true Americans. My heart is so heavy, and I weep as I write this. Must one be Jewish to understand? True and lasting evil is always going to be with us. The people who have resurrected the old canards are right there in the streets of our cities and towns.
ReplyDeleteThank G-d that the Americans joined the war. If they had sat it out, as so very many good Americans had wanted to do (including Charles Lindbergh), what would the world look like now?
The anti-immigrant movement of the 1930's prevented people from escaping from Europe to our shores. We see that again today directed at so many groups. In the 1930's and '40's there literally was no place for the Jews of Europe to go, to escape. Different now. But the new anti-Semitism has another target. While we frequently question the actions of governments, how often to we see movements to make a country disappear?
It was the conference yesterday that made me so maudlin today. So today, I will be reading more of Jenn's hilarious and fun Cup Cake Bakery series.
I have In Farleigh Field on my Kindle. Next week for that!
Stay safe and be well.
It terrifies me too, and I am not a Jew. We let this happen once. Are we letting it happen again? I hope not. But harm done is harm done and that is egregious.
DeleteYou don’t have to be Jewish to abhor this new anti Semitism, Judy. It just proves a disgusting underbelly lurks in every society, waiting for someone to give it permission to crawl out. Luckily it is only a few pathetic souls who need someone to blame for their own failures. I still believe most people are decent
DeleteAnti-Semitism is just one part of the horrible trend towards extreme prejudice, and sometimes violence, by a small but highly vocal minority towards the "other": Jews, Muslims, people of color in general--blacks in specific, Asians, Hispanics, and even those of a political sensibility that doesn't share a narrow, extreme right-leaning viewpoint. I think much of this is manufactured, including via propaganda, and does not truly reflect the viewpoint of the majority, but it's insidious enough, and with enough power behind it, that it's making much more noise than everything else.
DeleteHarm done, indeed. I wish I knew how to stop this train.
It occurs to me that this is just another useless and senseless war, but a very subtle one.
DeleteThanks Ann, Rhys and Karen. Weeping again but with love. I'm trying to believe that love and understanding will triumph.
DeleteKaren for President. Am I too late?
Aw, thanks, Judy.
DeleteYes, Judy, it is terrifying and terrible, and I agree it's just another tentacle of the weak and pathetic blaming others for their failures. Much of it is fueled by propaganda, as it always is. How to stop it, I don't know, other than to be kind and to support legitimate journalism. Sending love and hugs to you.
DeleteThanks, Deb. This community has definitely buoyed me during this crazy time and I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't found you first. I truly am grateful for the support here and also for the wonderful stories that I have look forward to reading again and again.
DeleteRhys, I think your analysis is correct. I'm interested in the World Wars because of how we all worked together to overcome a clear-cut evil. I wondered if I'd ever live to see that kind of patriotism and unity and now I've seen it twice: 9/11 and COVID-19. Part of me is surprised but all of me is proud of the way people are helping each other.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if one of the things that makes WWII documentaries and stories appealing, especially now, is that we know it ends in triumph? We need that hope right now.
Even in a 'good' war, and it took war to stop Hitler and Mussolini and the Japanese, the pain and damage inflicted can linger on in the generations which follow. Evil goes underground, to erupt and reappear again and again. Watching the LOTR (again), where the hobbits help save Middle Earth. But even the hero, Frodo, can't undo the damage he incurs along the way. Louise Steinman wrote The Souvenir: A Daughter Traces Her Father's War. This book details the damages the war inflicted on her father, and also delves into the 'other' side. The souvenir, after all, came from the enemy.
ReplyDeleteWe are witness to so many acts of goodness, of heroism from ordinary people, and yet, evil emerges, too. People vilifying Asian Americans. Demonstrators showing no concern for their own health and safety or the health and safety of those they encounter.
Sam tells Frodo that there's good in the world and it's worth fighting for. It's a fight that never ends. And I salute all of you who step up--even if 'stepping up' means staying home. Stay safe. Stay well.
Rhys, I read your wonderful essay in Private Investigations. I read about how the war affected your family. I was thinking about you last night when I was watching a documentary on PBS about the Queen during the War. Interesting to learn that they thought Glasgow was going to be bombed by the Germans, so there were many children from the poorest areas of Glasgow sent to live in lodgings near Balmoral Castle. There were photos of children at Balmoral Castle. It was one of the rare times when the Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret met ordinary children. It was for a short time.
ReplyDeleteIt was a war to stop Hitler and Mussolini and Toto.
Thank you for sharing. Stay safe and well.
Diana
I love this, Rhys. I've always been a history buff, and one of the things that has eased my mind over the past couple of months has been thinking about the challenges of the past. Not even going back as far as WWII - my mother lived on an Air Force base in the south during the Cuban missile crisis - within striking distance. She sent her husband off to Vietnam. I grew up in the shadow of the US-Soviet arms race. These were all trials that people got through, and it gives my courage and hope that we'll get through this great trial as well.
ReplyDeleteI remember vividly watching the military air traffic screaming over my Houston junior high campus. Scary times.
DeleteRhys, here's another thing I wonder about. I was probably a young adult before I realized tornado siren and all clear siren in my home town were the same sounds used during WWII air raids. Did England continue to use those sounds for civil defense like the US does? I imagine that very sound conjured up fear in survivors of the Blitz and wonder if it still does.
ReplyDeleteYes! Same sound. The town I lived in when I first came to the States had a midday siren that made my heart race every day. Also searchlights freak me out! And I only 3 when it ended!
DeleteNo wonder! You were scarred by it at such a young age. Our town tests the siren on the first Saturday of each month. This month the all clear went for so long that I was starting to get nervous and wonder what was wrong. I can only imagine how freaky the sirens are for you. I’m so sorry you had to endure that trauma.
DeleteMy parents, inlaws, and many relatives served in or supported the WW2 effort. Mom recalled how they hung on the latest news and worried. As she said, they didn’t kniw how this war would turn out. Friday I’m going to walk a couple of blocks to a nice open area and watch a VE celebration flyover of vintage WW2 airplanes. It will be spectacular and moving.
ReplyDeleteSo very true. Beautifully said, Rhys.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at WWII, it does seem like such a different world. I mean, obviously it was, but my reading about the time always makes it seem like people were all pulling together for a clear common cause. Today it feels much more like we are all pulling in different directions, and we don’t seem to have a common cause even in the middle of a pandemic. Maybe the difference is that I didn’t live through the day to day action then to witness the times when not everyone was on the same page. For now, I’m trying to focus on all the good people are doing and believing we will find a way to be better when this is all over.
ReplyDeleteLook at college essay examples and see if the grammar style used is the same or similar to what you have used in your essay. costco college application essay
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of this pandemic, I thought that we were all in this together as we were in World War II but Facebook and TV are telling me different now. People have the right to be stupid with their own health but not with everyone else's. And all these conspiratory theories about the virus and the government. Like the government would tank the economy for nothing! Hopefully we will get through this soon.
ReplyDeleteRhys, it's a wonderful essay! As for In Farleigh Field...loved it. Stay safe. xxoV
ReplyDelete