During World War I, a significant event in the Edwardian era, many horrible atrocities were committed against enemy armies in the name of freedom and revenge. A desire for violent retribution was used to persuade young men to join the United States army and help defeat the Germans. It was often believed that the punishment received by the “Huns” was deserved because they had attacked innocent American boats and citizens with their underwater submarines. The Huns had also offered to help the Mexicans take back Texas with the Zimmerman note. The Americans felt they deserved to fight back, as displayed by the propaganda poster stating, “Destroy This Mad Brute, Enlist U.S. Army.”
In the picture, a brutal German soldier, drawn as a primal gorilla, is carrying a fair maiden. He is killing enemy soldiers with a club that says “kultur,” suggesting he has none. He also has a helmet that says “militarism,” implying he fights for the wrong reasons. The picture justifies Americans killing Germans because Germans are simply without morals themselves. It is okay to act amoral against one who is immoral.
Violence as retribution is always immoral because, once humans throw away justice and ignore the rule of law, they have lost that which makes them civilized. However, the propaganda tries to suggest that brutal violence in war is amoral because something cannot be considered immoral if both sides act in that manner. Morality is simply thrown out the window when humans fight each other. Winning a war is not about morality; it is about survival.
Works Cited
"Destroy the Mad Brute." American Neutrality. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
"Edwardian Era." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.
Team 4: Cody Dunn, Stephen Hwang, Carlton Lew, Tyler Wong, Rin Sone
No comments:
Post a Comment