Originally Posted by Joe Obenberger

I do disagree that World War II led to "nothing". You should ask the people of China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, France, Holland, Denmark, the Scandanavian countires, Greece. etc. I think that rather a lot was accomplished by the Allies. We all worked together in concert and achieved something most remarkable. Many wars accomplish significant results for the good. Ask anyone living in Seoul today. And when some wars are lost, significant tragedy results. Though you really won't be able to ask the people living in Ho Chi Minh city, you can check with the Vietnamese immigrant community and ask them just a few questions about how tough it was to leave Vietnam, why they did so, and the many tragic stories they know of the people who didn't make it out. I'm proud that troops carrying the United States flag suffered and died for the freedom of France and many millions all throughout the World, and just as proud that when Charles DeGaul asked us to pick up our troop and depart, we did so without delay. We came as Liberators, not as conquerers, and when the French thought our presence was no longer needed to assure their freedom, the Liberators left. The French may have left the military component of NATO, but of course they remained part of the alliance; I recall a change of command ceremony at First Infantry in Goeppingen at which all the allies attended; and most remarkably, I remember the French Flag, the French Commander, and standing at attention for the playing of the French National Anthem, too. They were, with us, the Brits, and the Canadians, maintaining watch in Germany for the security of Western Europe. Whatever trash anyone wants to say about this country and its flag, let them say it. Our First Amendment means that it is no crime even to burn our flag. I am proud of that, too. This is a country that has gone to war to defend the freedom of other people in far distant lands, and there are only a few nations that can say the same, notably the Brits, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders. Indeed, it's tragic that the practicalities of defeating the Nazis left the Soviets masters of Eastern Europe. However, we never lost faith with those people and worked for decades to put pressure on the house that Stalin built until in ultimately collapsed. In Chicago, we have an enormous Polish population. Ask Poles why the Communist empire collapsed and what they think of the US role in that. It took many hands to accomplish it, from the people of the captive nations to the Pope, but the US hand was steady in its pressure over those many years,and it cannot fairly be said by anyone that when the end came, and when freedom came, it was not something that the Americans massively influenced. Indeed proud of that flag and what it stands for.