PTSD

After reading two celebrity 'History' books about Lincoln and Washington, I return to viewing Ken Burns' documentary The War, about WWII and four American towns. I am of the humble opinion that only those who lived it should tell the story - all else seems entertainment for profit by those who really don't understand the price...

I found a lot of left handed German rifles in the movie, I found two fifty star flags hung outside American homes, and I got a kick out of reading the German graffiti on a broken war machine. Overall a very moving production and a good thing to keep around for a taste of History, we just won't be able to ask our ancestors about since they are going so quickly. I recommend it although I have a lot of suspicions about Ken Burns and his message in all his films.

I once said, loudly and too often, that History is told by the victors, but I am sure that Homer and other performance artists will always have the last say. Shakespeare was writing plays about real Kings in Scotland, just never had the time to teach you that there wasn't a Scotland there at the time.

In general I am content that America's boom after the war was mainly from the returning service men that had seen Europe and the Pacific and wanted better for their lives - trying to bury the memory. They did a fine job.