Comments for HistoryJournal.org

Comment on A generation passed away by Alex L.

Alex L. — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:55 +0000

One bright morning, a British soldier rounded a corner in the trenches to find a group of men gathered around where an artillery shell had just struck. The British soldier saw what remained: his brother, who was making coffee for him a few minutes ago, was turned to pulp and blood that hung on the earthen walls. Imagine what drinking a cup of coffee for the rest of your life after that would feel like.

Or how sunsets would for all time be perceived if for four uninterrupted years you only saw one when your infantry company was ordered every evening to peek their heads out of the trenches–hands frozen to their guns–for painfully long minutes in anticipation of a dusk attack.

These are different types of memories from what we can store digitally. They are the most powerful deterrents against war. We can’t fully experience what these veterans did, but I think that through stories we can attain a certain level of empathy for their pain. Even a fictional story (like Vysotsky’s song “He Didn’t Return from Battle”) can have this effect.

The two stories above are from “The Great War and Modern Memory”, a book that really made me think. Thanks for making me think through this topic too, Rich!

Comment on A generation passed away by Loving Language

Loving Language — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:02:43 +0000

Why do you think memory fades quicker on hard drives than human heads? It seems the other way around, since hard drives are outlasting all kinds of human heads–except when they crash.

Is it because one can only make sense of memory when it’s in your head?

Comment on That constitution is best which… by Loving Language

Loving Language — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:36:12 +0000

I guess it’s a conservative vs liberal question, what is the government’s role in preserving human rights?

Comment on What have we learned from the Iraq War? by Alex L.

Alex L. — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:47:19 +0000

I too hope he wouldn’t. Since he’s killed bin Laden and drawn down the war in Iraq, at least he doesn’t have to prove his credentials (like the Republican candidates try to do in the debates) for performing the Commander-in-Chief role. That’s one less motivation for war-mongering.

Comment on What have we learned from the Iraq War? by Loving Language

Loving Language — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:36:51 +0000

Thanks for posting these stats. Obama surely knows that wars and nationalism help polling numbers. Every president since after Carter started a war–even if it was the little Panama thing that Reagan did. I wish I could not be cynical about this president, that I could believe he wouldn’t use war-mongering for political reasons. Please, President Obama, prove me wrong!

Comment on Memoirs of a Russian submariner by Alex L.

Alex L. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:23:39 +0000

And yes, I wish I had mastery over a field of knowledge like Korzh had over submarine technology. And under such desperate circumstances! Imagine your life depending on how successfully you teach a class or write an article.

Comment on Memoirs of a Russian submariner by Alex L.

Alex L. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:18:54 +0000

That’s a good point: machines are man-made, so that conflict is probably best grouped under the Man vs. Self category. I knew there must have been a good reason why Man vs. Machine wasn’t included as one of the conflict categories in English class. But then again, maybe it takes living in the former Soviet Union to really learn how much of a struggle operating technology can be

Comment on Memoirs of a Russian submariner by ireneapanovitch

ireneapanovitch — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:59:58 +0000

Great post! Reading it, I wonder if Man vs. Machine is not a separate category but rather is an extension of Man vs. Self. I mean, it sounds like Korzh overcame so many of his boat’s technical problems by knowing its insides inside and out. Aren’t we all on that path, to some extent? Figuratively speaking, of course. Anyway…just a thought!

Comment on “Song of a Fighter Pilot” by Yuriy Koshkin

Yuriy Koshkin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:56:47 +0000

Yeap. Those are good too. There is lots of goods songs written by Vladimir(even though it’s not my kind of music I admit it).

Comment on “Song of a Fighter Pilot” by Alex L.

Alex L. — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:11:07 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Yuriy. I think you’re so right about Vladimir’s lyrics. My other favourite war songs of his are “On ne vernulsya iz boya” (“He Didn’t Return from Battle”) and “Soldaty gruppy ‘Tsentr’” (“Soldiers of ‘Army Group Center’”)–maybe I’ll translate them sometime too.