Pondering World War III: More recommended documentaries

by phil on Friday Oct 10, 2008 3:46 AM

Could another World War happen? Thoughts of doomsday have been entering my mind lately, in particular because of the thick, large, red, bold, font titles of DISASTER and DOW PLUNGES and WORST SINCE GREAT DEPRESSION that have been appearing on Drudge and Huffington Post.

In some ways, I'm sheltered from the financial fallout. For example, I don't have too much money in the stock market. Nor do I work in the financial industry. I sort of work in the entertainment and software industry. The entertainment industry, and in particular, video games, is recession-proof. Or so they say. And software is traditionally a growth industry. Also, so they say.

But, my common reaction when I hear bad news is to double-down by desensitizing myself to a cynical reality. For example, I told myself today, "okay, fine, you may be a little shielded from this economic crisis, but within the next two years, something unexpected and bad will happen to someone you know." Grim, I know. But these are the harsh, blunt truths I seek out. And, guess what, it is probably true.

I guess by the same principle, I summoned up the spirit of something that seems as ancient as the Great Depression: World War II. I've been watching these documentaries created by Frank Capra: Why We Fight. They're 8 hours of propaganda designed to motivate Americans to enter World War II. They're really fascinating, and I hope you find time to watch them. You can see all the episodes by going to the "Episodes" section on that wikipedia entry, and clicking on the little boxes with arrows to the right. Once you're there, I also recommend downloading the MPEG1 versions for good quality viewing.

That was 65 years ago. Is that world totally obsolete? Or are we in a peacetime trough? If you can ponder that, then maybe you'll stomach this economic crisis.