The Good War

The author believes that the war had a positive outcome but it was unnecessarily disturbing. The accomplishments made during the war has indeed undermined the failures, with misconstrued views. People today think this war was “The best war ever.” Adams creates a realistic picture of the war by describing the major aspects as well as topics that have little coverage to the masses. This includes; the development of teen culture, treatment of homosexuals who took part in the armed forces, minority combat during the war, the physical and mental scars, and economic reorganization of war production.

If someone goes throughout the United States and asks if the Second World War was a “good war,” it is practically guaranteed that at least 50 percent of Americans will inherently say it was good. Michael C. C. Adams brings up points in his book, The Best War Ever. These points are that the media spread propaganda to create a positive image of the war and the human cost of war. Propaganda is a word to describe the government's or media's use of images or words to sway public opinion. This was used during the 1940s to make young people want to get drafted and be a part of the armed forces.

To the United States, World War II is believed to be a good war, and why wouldn’t it be considered as such? During World War II, in addition to stopping mass genocide and stopping the spread of Nazism and Fascism, the United States beat Japan after their attack on Pearl Harbor. As a result, the U.S. was no longer in the Depression and the United States became a world power. However, in “The Best War Ever,” Michael C.C. Adams argues that as a result of Hollywood’s glamorization of the war, government propaganda/censorship, and the widespread of economic prosperity, Americans were kept in the dark about the truth regarding World War II resulting in the popular belief and myth that World War II was a good war.

Many regard World War II as the best war ever, but why? It seems the one fact that stands out in American minds is that the Allied Powers were fighting against people who were perceived as "evil”, such as Adolf Hitler and Emperor Hirohito. Many disregard all the casualties and hardships and only think about the big picture: victory. Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dissipate all of the misconceptions of the Second World War. Americans came out of the war with a positive view of all the years of fighting. This myth was born from several factors, mainly due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood’s glamorization, and widespread economic

Set-up - Warfare is constantly changing, for the tools of war are always evolving, as do the societies that wage war. Between 1400 and 1918, western warfare went through four periods that saw such profound change that it can fairly be said that a "military revolution" occurred. According to historians MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray, military revolutions "fundamentally change the framework of war" and "recast society and the state as well as military organizations." While all of the military revolutions studied in H100 were important in the evolution of warfare, one clearly stimulated greater change than the others.

“War. War never changes”. This is a semi-iconic quote from a video-game based in a future world where War has lead to worldwide destruction. However, one does not have to be hundreds of years in the future to understand that the art of war has a pattern. The Civil War and American Revolution, while having great contrasts and a time gap of 78 years, had many similarities. Among these are causes, strategies, and even outcomes.

The thoughts about World War II from non-minority citizens in America transpired into the label of a “good war” due to the heroic actions taken by our servicemen who fought to protect the “four essential human freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, freedom of want, and freedom of fear” as referenced to in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Third Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union (par.77-80). In addition, at first glance, there were multiple accomplishments due to the war, such as: pulling our country’s economy out of the Great Depression due to our involvement in the war, creating new technologies for the future generations to improve upon, and being victorious as a result. Although these remained noteworthy accomplishments, the US contradicted their actions. Additionally, the US fought for the privileges of minorities in various countries; however, did not uphold the equal privileges of the minorities in their own country. In conclusion, World War II does not deserve the title the “good war” due to the political, economic, and social impacts on the minorities during this war.

In the two hundred years since 1775, there has been thirty-five years of fighting in what we consider major conflicts or wars. This averages out to about one year of war to every almost 6 years of our existence as a nation and during that time, we have not been without formal military organizations. Over the course of history, the United States has engaged in many battles that were a crucial phase in developing who and what we have become. Throughout this assessment, we will analyze what were some of the true tipping points that shaped (1) America’s paradoxical love-hate relationship with war and, (2) How this relationship influences American warfare.

The concept of war as a static and unchanging occurrence is an outdated and dangerous miscalculation. More accurately, war is a fluidic, evolving and shifting phenomenon constantly reinventing itself, rendering stagnant, inflexible principles potentially disastrous. Consequently, as students of war and future players in this transforming theatre, the study of eras of significant development is an extremely relevant pursuit. Recognizing the need for adaptation and the creation of doctrine is now a prerequisite for any effective modern commander. War is unpredictable in nature and particularly so in current theatres of operation, in which change is rapid

The vast majority of Americans supported World War II (WWII) after Pearl Harbor was bombed, recognizing a fascist threat to Western democracy. WWII was a good war. It had the ability to unite America. They united against Nazism and fascism. But even a good War has its bad times. If you look behind what you think happened at what really happened in WWII it becomes clear that the U.S. has nothing to be proud about.

The notion of an American way of war informs how scholars, policymakers, and strategists understand how Americans fight. A way of war—defined as a society’s cultural preferences for waging war—is not static. Change can occur as a result of important cultural events, often in the form of traumatic experiences or major social transformations. A way of war is therefore the malleable product of culturally significant past experiences. Reflecting several underlying cultural ideals, the current American way of war consists of three primary tenets—the desire for moral clarity, the primacy of technology, and the centrality of scientific management systems—which combine to create a preference for decisive, large-scale conventional wars with clear objectives and an aversion to morally ambiguous low-intensity conflicts that is relevant to planners because it helps them address American strategic vulnerabilities.

The American “way of war” can be seen politically through the evolution of military policy as political perspectives changed. Post-World War II reveals primary and consistent policies that lead American military policymakers to avoid major international conflict. Coined the Cold War, Americans began waging war

immorality while the other simply meaning moral. A character’s viewpoint on life very much defines the type of person he or she is. People can have differing opinions on what they consider to be good and evil. Lies, ignorance, injustice, wrath, greed, and so on are normally placed into the category of evil. Truth, knowledge, justice, meekness, charity, and etcetera are associated with good. Though completely different, the perception of both expressions can be misinterpreted. The confusion due to evil acting as a parody of good affects the characters of The Crucible

War has always been an unfortunate part of our society and civilization. War will sadly and undoubtedly be with us as long as we exist. However, the portrayal of war for many centuries gave a sense of patriotism and romanticism. Then the invention of the camera changed how humanity perceived war in the late to mid 19th century. And all of a sudden, images of war became of shear violence and destruction. The violence in these images would play a significant part in the social and political standpoints of war in our nation.