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type-username_here t1_j1ifi3j wrote

Reply to comment by Bleedthebeat in Where history has been fought by RedTomatoSauce

When my Grandpa told me about it, it was just kind of out of nowhere. I had just finished doing some plumbing work at his house and he was writing me a check for the supplies, and just started telling me stories about the war. He just had a thousand mile stare and you could tell he could see these events replaying in his head as he told them to me. He told me about killing men from only feet away, and how he covered himself in debris as a German tank rolled over a trench he was in, he said he was shot at directly from an 88. He said everyone he fought alongside was killed, he spent 32 days in front line combat and collapsed from battle fatigue. He said he woke up in a hospital in Paris and cried tears of joy to be out of that hell.

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Silua7 t1_j1ikwar wrote

Hearing stories like these really helps understand why they always thought us grandkids are soft. We were all born in the long summer.

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Erlian t1_j1iptbs wrote

Born in a long summer in some ways. Though in other ways we face threats just as existential/ if not more so, more complex, and with no escape in sight, and things just keep getting worse. No war can solve what we face now.

We have to rely on the dwindling political will in our polarized and eroding democracy. A young electorate that is tough and hardworking, and better educated than ever, yet understandably disenchanted and depressed / anxious about the state of our democracy and the world.

News outlets that peddle fear over truth. A global pandemic. Fascism rearing its ugly head on our own home turf, in our lifetimes, along with treasonous actions from our own elected leaders. Monopolies and conglomerates that have eroded both policy and the free market - including pharma, healthcare, and health insurance. A climate disaster hundreds of years in the making.

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Animal_Courier t1_j1iv2rr wrote

If it gives you any hope those tough, hardworking, better educated people you mentioned are coming up with a ton of potential solutions to climate change - better renewables, better batteries, more efficient tech and more efficient systems. Even without international cooperation scientists around the world are dragging us off the precipice of a climate catastrophe.

Which is not to say the climate won’t change, or that people won’t be harmed during this process, but it is being mitigated. As a fantastic cherry on top the United States passed an enormous climate change hill that has already inspired huge investments in the green revolution. The world tends to follow American trends, and with only a few exceptions voters around the world are demanding their politicians take part in the solution.

Though I do foresee the possibility of great and terrible times ahead, I do not think they are inevitable, probable or even likely unless we let some of these bad actors use law and politics to wipe away our gains (aka Americans can fuck it up if they give too much power to Republicans, as that party is currently constituted). Humanity is pushing forward through these stormy times. Try not to despair, that which is good in this word is not yet lost, not nearly, and billions of your fellow humans are fighting to keep it, improve it and thrive.

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Erlian t1_j1jy8qm wrote

Thank you for this message :) the Inflation Reduction Act was huge for green energy investment + I'm glad we're moving towards more renewables and EVs. No sense in despairing and we must keep working hard and moving forward!

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Slexx t1_j1jgqrs wrote

if you think jan 6 and infowars is as bad as (if not worse) than WW2 you really need to turn off MSNBC and touch grass

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Erlian t1_j1jyf84 wrote

That's not what I was saying at all, silly goose :) happy holidays & keep warm

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gnomz t1_j1kd387 wrote

You must be high, the 'threats' in 2022 are nothing compared to 2 empires simultaneously waging brutal wars in an attempt to conquer the globe

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Fuckredditadmins117 t1_j1l1arq wrote

My father was in Vietnam and I had the exact same experience with him. Just out of the blue like it was playing in his head. Worst part is him and the friends he lost have never been acknowledged as having been in the conflict due to some shady government shit and an NDA. So not only has he had to live through that he has been accused of false honour for even mentioning it. But having met a few veterans of combat you can't fake that retelling, when you see them it's clearly real and running in their head.

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