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Russia's Crimes Don't Absolve the US
Sugarcoating history doesn't change the past, and forced patriotism is dangerous.
At the height of the Great Depression in 1932, the Bonus Army marched on Washington to demand the eight-year overdue promised payment for their compulsory 1917–1918 WWI service. In solidarity, veterans of every race and ethnicity flooded the Capitol, ignoring Jim Crow and setting up shantytowns to await the outcome of a proposed repayment Bill. Sadly, the Senate declined to pay the bonus until 1945, almost thirty years after the war.
When the vets refused to leave, President Hoover feared they would impact the upcoming election and wanted them gone. Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur, his aide Dwight Eisenhower, and the newspapers claimed the vets were communists attempting to overthrow the government. The police and army set fire, threw teargas, and tanks leveled the camps, and for the final blow, the cavalry torched the remains. Be all you can be in the army! Thank you for your service!
Russia attacks Ukraine, and Americans believe we should pretend the dark side of US history doesn't exist. It's as if Russia's bloody hands absolve the US of any wrongdoing, but some of us don't forget. The way we view Russia's invasion of Ukraine is how the "other" world views our assault on Iraq and…
