Originally Posted by RoadWarriorFromLP (Post 5320041)

To fight the Japanese, yes. Last I checked, Hitler's last residence was in Europe.

Originally Posted by elfman (Post 5319856)

perhaps not directly, more by omission. Example: on the wall of my office I have a National Geographic map of Great Britain and Ireland. Down at the bottom of the map a section of Normandy is visible, and the National Geographic cartographers have labeled the D-Day beaches on it. Except they've only labeled the beaches where Americans landed (Utah and Omaha): the beaches assaulted by British and Canadian troops (Gold, Sword, Juno) are mysteriously absent. That's the kind of thing that fosters ignorance and winds British people up.

Originally Posted by Triumphrob (Post 5312249)

Hey Guys
I am getting so fed up with the "If it wasnt for the US you would all be speaking German" brigade at work. I need some comebacks that will make them look like the propergander believing twats they are!
Rob

Originally Posted by krizzy (Post 5321465)

I just say one word Russia ...really everyone done their bit...no one country won the war...but I find bring in Russia always makes people stop and think....

Originally Posted by KJ2007 (Post 5320002)

60 years? That's nothing - many Southerners aren't over the US Civil War yet. Damn Yankees! :eek:

:

Originally Posted by RoadWarriorFromLP (Post 5319993)

OK, we'll go back to this.



Jokes aside, I don't think that you'll find that many people, particularly the urban hipsters on the coasts, who believe this sort of thing. But for those who do, here's a thought --

Until the 1930's, Americans were generally isolationist in their political views. It began with Washington's advisory to avoid "foreign entanglements", and continued through the end of the 19th century, when Americans were too busy conquering native peoples and the Mexicans to worry about much beyond North America.

WWI saw a momentary sea change in public sentiment in its support for WWI, so the rise of fascism so soon thereafter was a letdown. The attitude during the Great War had been that we'll go over there, help them sort things out, and peace will descend upon the world, but within less than twenty years, the whole thing had unraveled pretty badly. Americans in the late thirties were generally in no mood to jump into a war that they thought that the last one would prevent from ever happening again.

To motivate Americans to go fight WWII, it was necessary to convince them that they must be saviors of the world to the downtrodden who can't survive without them. It was the belief that America could make a difference in the world and help its friends that convinced the average slob to buy war bonds, ration meat and send his kids into the grinder, even though they otherwise had no business there.

And there you have it. If Americans don't think that they make the critical difference in a foreign conflict, they don't want to make the sacrifice. They participate in the belief that it's part of the democratic mission, not just because it's supposedly important. It's therefore important to convince them that the cause is noble AND that they are uniquely positioned to fix it in order to get them to participate.

Ironically, it was the absence of a belief that your asses deserved saving that kept the US out of WWII as long as it did. FDR did not have enough popular will among the electorate to declare war on Germany as early as 1941, until Hitler stupidly fixed the problem for him.

If Americans had maintained the mentality that some of you desire, they would have stayed home in the belief that you should have sorted out the Hitler problem for yourselves, without their help or their blood, for it wasn't otherwise their business. You might be careful what you wish for, next time...

Originally Posted by Triumphrob (Post 5312249)

Hey Guys
I am getting so fed up with the "If it wasnt for the US you would all be speaking German" brigade at work. I need some comebacks that will make them look like the propergander believing twats they are!
Rob

Originally Posted by David Richardson (Post 5323332)

Rob, tell them U-Boats were circling 10 miles off Manhattan before the US even came into the war. Imagine if the UK had capitulated as easily as the French that might have left Hitler with much more ability to threaten the US directly. Recommend they read a book 'A man called Intrepid' about Churchill, FDR and A Canadian ( name escapes me) who organized the spy network pre 1938 that prepared a lot of intelligence for FDR to convince the US to come into the war. The Republicans threatened FDR with impeachment if he brought the US into 'Europe's War' and they only went in by one vote in Congress.

Originally Posted by David Richardson (Post 5323332)

The Republicans threatened FDR with impeachment if he brought the US into 'Europe's War' and they only went in by one vote in Congress.

Originally Posted by RoadWarriorFromLP (Post 5319831)

I think that some of us learned to take the piss out of our British cousins. However, not all said cousins have figured out how to take a joke.

QUOTE]

Flippin heck - this thread took some catching up on.....

I'd have thought there must be some Brits out there that are pretty well able to take the piss out of their US cousins too ? (although they may need to telegraph it with suitable "I was joking" sort of comments...).

Out of interest, if you think Brits haven't "figured out how to take a joke" about their efforts and sacrifices during WWII being discounted, how long do you think it would take Americans to "figure out how to take a joke" about 9/11, or maybe even Iraq? Thing is, I doubt we'll ever know, because I suspect most Brits would exercise a little more sensitivity in such issues - even 50, 75 years down the line.

Originally Posted by Yorkieabroad (Post 5323558)

Considering that while 9/11 took place on American soil and the majority of people who died as a result were American, NOT all were American. I seem to remember there were some Brits as well as other nationalities. The war in Iraq is not without British casualties.

Summary, I don't think that either one of those would be suitable choices for comebacks ANYWHERE, ANYTIME down the road.


PS A one upsmanship on who did what to who and how well or poorly or whatever not only shows a lack of sensitivity and class, it also shows ignorance. That goes for ANYONE of ANY NATIONALITY.

Originally Posted by cindyabs (Post 5323587)

I agree - you seem to have missed the point of my post....my reply was to the post suggesting that Brits lacked a sense of humour because they couldn't take the "jokes" about being saved in WWII. I was merely asking at what point the poster thought Americans would develop a sense of humour about 9/11 and Iraq which would permit them to take "jokes" about those occurrences with good grace. And then I said I thought it would never come to that because most folk would be more sensitive to it and not try to make fun out of it. Unlike the Americans and their jibes (not jokes) about WWII. Did I manage to make myself clear that time without shouting?

Originally Posted by Cindyabs (Post 5323613)

However, I also did not care for the statement that the Brits would show more sensitivity, which you had stated in your reply to the poster. Anyone with a lick of sense and manners would know better than to throw an ignorant comment out in the attempt to come off humorous about a very non humorous subject-my point.