E. B. White on War. A Historical Parallel?
Today, May 9th, is Victory Day in Russia (1) as it celebrates the surrender of Germany in WWII. And
Russia is at war again today. An early column by E. B. White may provide an historical parallel.
Decades ago E. B. White wrote in The New Yorker, The long vigil at the radio is beginning to tell
on us. We have been tuned in, off and on, for forty-eight hours, trying to snare intimations of our
destiny, as in a butterfly net. . . We still twitch nervously from the likelihood of war at 86 on the
dial to the possibility of peace at 100 on the dial. . . We sit with diners at the darkened tables in
the French cafés, . . .we march alongside the German troops approaching the Polish border. . . If
war comes, it will be war, and no one wants that.
Border Parallel?
In the spring of 2021, Russian troops began approaching the Ukrainian border. In mid-January of
this year, as many as 100,000 Russian troops had been amassed along that border, leading
President Biden to say on television, “How can I say this in a public forum,” He hesitated briefly
before saying of Putin, “My guess is he will move in.”
Date of White’s Column
Mr. White wrote his column on August 27th, 1939. Hitler’s troops invaded Poland five days later,
on September 1st (The New Yorker published White’s column on September 2nd). On September
3rd, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany, the beginning of World War II, a
conflict that quickly expanded, as we all know.
Historical Parallel?
On February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded the Ukraine. Land and air battles erupted, leading
to massive destruction of cities and human lives. NATO is ramping up its efforts to provide more
and more weapons and supplies to the beleaguered Ukrainians. Fighting is ferocious. War is here,
and escalating. Most of us do not want it. Weapons are more powerful than ever (2). Unleashing
even a fraction of present-day nuclear warheads likely would eliminate all of humanity, or cripple
it in unimaginable ways. Where do we go from here? Do our politicians know?
German soldier photo from National Archives (image 200-SFF-52)
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About the Author
Ken Goetz
Physician-scientist, researcher, and educator who grew up on the South Dakota prairie. Today, Kenneth writes about life and science.
Most politicians don’t know Jack! Except of course how to enrich themselves while in office. When it comes to war just look back at the Vietnam War and how politics inhibited the fighting men because of course politicians thought they knew better!
Your opinion of politicians agrees with current national polling. Our congressional leaders latest approval ratings range between 30 to 40 percent, a level I personally believe, considering the turmoil and indecisiveness in Washington, is too generous.