01-22-2006, 03:17 PM
Dhu,
thanks for that quotation of Emperor Hirohito. I never knew he was a pacifist, nor was I aware of his opinion against Japanese expansion. (That begs the question, how did Japan attempt it without their Emperor approving it?)
Japan had been repeatedly trodden over by the west. Multiple attempts to crush and destroy Japanese culture and religion had been mounted by the west, so Japan's animosity during WWII was uniquely directed at America because of what it had suffered in the past. Unsurprisingly, the lust for global power which the country exhibited leading upto and during WWII it got from involuntary association with power-hungry imperialist countries. Imperialism has always been learnt. It was a dispicable disease Japan contracted by association. It doesn't excuse what they did in WWII (to China, etc). But it does explain the phenomenon.
Oddly enough, Shinto was made to bear the blame for Japan's attempt at global imperialism and war crimes, even though Shinto has existed for eons and never showed such behaviour before. On the other hand, Christianity <i>was</i> to blame for Nazism and yet there's a huge denial of the obvious going on. Besides which, the short history of Christianity is full of bloodsoaked imperialism.
There's one difference though: the Kamisama will never die. On the other hand, Jesus never existed
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nazi sympathizer and enabler Pope Pius<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->For all the people fawning over the recently deceased pope (including our own Indian Christians - well, the Catholics at least), he was little better than Unpious Pius. Otherwise why did he beatify two Ustashe bishops (and wanted them sainted as well)?
thanks for that quotation of Emperor Hirohito. I never knew he was a pacifist, nor was I aware of his opinion against Japanese expansion. (That begs the question, how did Japan attempt it without their Emperor approving it?)
Japan had been repeatedly trodden over by the west. Multiple attempts to crush and destroy Japanese culture and religion had been mounted by the west, so Japan's animosity during WWII was uniquely directed at America because of what it had suffered in the past. Unsurprisingly, the lust for global power which the country exhibited leading upto and during WWII it got from involuntary association with power-hungry imperialist countries. Imperialism has always been learnt. It was a dispicable disease Japan contracted by association. It doesn't excuse what they did in WWII (to China, etc). But it does explain the phenomenon.
Oddly enough, Shinto was made to bear the blame for Japan's attempt at global imperialism and war crimes, even though Shinto has existed for eons and never showed such behaviour before. On the other hand, Christianity <i>was</i> to blame for Nazism and yet there's a huge denial of the obvious going on. Besides which, the short history of Christianity is full of bloodsoaked imperialism.
There's one difference though: the Kamisama will never die. On the other hand, Jesus never existed
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nazi sympathizer and enabler Pope Pius<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->For all the people fawning over the recently deceased pope (including our own Indian Christians - well, the Catholics at least), he was little better than Unpious Pius. Otherwise why did he beatify two Ustashe bishops (and wanted them sainted as well)?