THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

WORLD WAR II CONSERVATISM | 2002-07-27

In The wake of September 11, conservatives are wildly praising World War II.

I get desperately tired of hearing conservatives bless and praise WW2. A lot of good people died in that war.

For conservatives, the fact that a lot of good people died in it makes WW2 The Good War. But to me, the very fact that so many good Americans died in a war that ended up being nothing but a victory for the political left makes it worse, not better.

There are lessons to be learned from World War II. The main one is that conservatives should not let their lust for uniforms and flag-waving blind them to what the struggle is all about.