this past sunday morning i was listening to a cbc rebroadcast of a report done the morning the allies finally finished off the nazi regime, ending the war in europe. there was cheering, parades, kisses and tears, but i've always wondered what people were cheering about... we're led to believe that they were excited about the fact that we "won", but i'm not sure.
bertrand russell said: "war does not determine who is right, only who is left". with that in mind, i have to ask: were they cheering about the fact that we won, or the fact that tomorrow they won't have that spector of immanent death hanging over their heads?
in war it's always the civilians and innocent bystanders that pay the highest price. presently, while over 1700 american soldiers have died in iraq, nearly 23,000 civilians have been killed. when this war is finally over, what do you think the survivors will be cheering about? something tells me that it won't be "victory".