Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact

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Why do we ask America for forgiveness?

By Nishio Kanji,

Summary

Summary: WHY DO WE ASK AMERICA FOR FORGIVENESS?
JAPAN’S HUMBLE ISOLATION AND THE TWO WORLD WARS
by Nishio Kanji, Ph. D.
A natural extension of “total war” is the need to humiliate the defeated, and to keep its people in a continuous state of debasement. Particular to western thinking is the need not just to defeat the opposing armed forces in battle but to aim to completely cripple the opposite nation and to humiliate survivors. Furthermore, the humiliation is to be shouldered by subsequent generations. The concept originated with the American Civil War and further utilized both world wars (large-scale European Civil Wars). Since the vanquished have been reduced to a vassal state, “justice,” along with humiliation is freely meted out. However, the victors’ moral righteousness is merely window dressing. A look behind it and one would uncover the same crimes of which the vanquished was accused. This, too, is particular to western thinking, and again, highlighted by the behavior of the allied European nations following the world wars.
The combined anxiety associated with doublethink and genocidal aspects of the Second European War, westerners have been infected with the bizarre need to offer apologies for crimes either real or imagined. In parallel, they have also demanded apologies from others. Similar to communist show trials, America has compelled Japan to confess for past alleged crimes, which willingly obliges. Indeed, spontaneous supplication for forgiveness before the world is an annual ritual, an indication of a “rehabilitated” Japan. This pleases westerners to no end.
Had the Europeans seriously reflected on the horrible consequences of previous world wars, blame would have been more evenly spread to include the winners as well. In this way, perhaps real peace may be attained.

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