
“If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied.” ~ Rudyard Kipling
In sharing Kipling’s sentiment that reflected upon the reasons behind the great loss of life in the Great War, it is alarming to consider that even today, the same Great Lie continues to be perpetuated: socialism is good; nationalism is bad.
In the second of a two-part Remembrance Day reflection, our conversation with Salim Mansur connects the dots between the First World War, the Second World War, and beyond. With Remembrance Day now behind us, we can turn our attention toward the present and future to consider how the lessons of WWI and WWII should be applied.
The period between the two world wars saw the collapse of European empires, the creation of nation states, the rise of communism and national socialism in Germany, and the adoption of socialism as a ‘remedy’ for economic hardships in all European states. The ‘witch’s brew’ in which they all simmered resulted in both WWI and WWII – a “collective suicide” that is an inevitable consequence of collectivism itself.
Alarmingly, today we increasingly find ourselves in that same collectivist brew, suffering under the same ideologies that precipitated both wars – ideas that originated and germinated in Europe. (Consider that ANTIFA today flies the German communist flag.) Continue reading »







