Just this past week, I got a chance to go to the WWII museum in New Orleans, LA. The museum does a very good job of telling the story of the war, as well as documenting the pain and suffering of those involved. This war has left such a huge mark on the history of mankind that we hopefully will never forget it.
One of the moments that struck me was when they showed photos of some of the people in the concentration camps. The people imprisoned there looked like skeletons with flesh on them. Those who weren’t dead, appeared to be hanging onto life by a thread. How anyone could treat someone else like that is beyond my understanding.
After Japan attacked us, fear and suspicion caused the Roosevelt administration to round up most of the 120,000 Japanese Americans living in the U.S. and force them to leave their homes and property. They were sent to camps to live in for the majority of the war. Living conditions in the camps were terrible and some were basically horse stalls with dirt floors. Many times, as soon as the Japanese Americans were forced out of their homes, their neighbors would be right behind them to go through their homes and possessions and take what they wanted.
It would have been scary to be in the middle of war. Just imagine being among the first waves of soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy. One soldier said it looked like a Hollywood movie except people were really dying. Over 4,000 allied forces died on D-Day alone. Another human tragedy was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Altogether, over 110,000 people were killed. Those who survived had their lives changed forever.
Even though WWII was necessary to stop a wave of evil from taking over the world, it’s sad to see how humans treat each other. War seems to bring out the best and worst in people. We need to always remember the huge human cost of war so we don’t ever repeat it.
We’re now extremely close to another world war. Russia and Ukraine are battling for territory, Palestine and Israel are also at war, and there are many other countries that could easily provoke a worldwide conflict in an instant. The next world war has the potential to make all of the other wars combined look like a minor skirmish.
Peace requires love and love requires sacrifice. We may not always like our neighbors, but we should be able to still love them. We are all children of God and God loves all of His children. I hate seeing my kids fight each other. One kid has something the other wants and before long there is an argument that gets worse until someone gets hurt or the fight gets broken up. One kid will do something mean to the other and the other will retaliate. We teach our children to let it go and turn the other cheek and yet we have a hard time following our own teachings. Just because one country did something wrong to another country, doesn’t mean the other country should always respond in kind.
Jesus tells his disciples, “This is my commandment: Love one another as I love you.” If the world followed that commandment, it would be much safer and more peaceful. It’s so easy to be greedy, unforgiving, and angry. It’s much harder to be selfless, forgiving, and tolerant. Doing what’s hard is what leads us to peace and happiness. When nations take the hard road and embrace love, the world will see an end to the pain, suffering, and death brought about by war. Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
