Historically, this country has been involved in many wars; without going too far back, one of the bloodiest in U.S. history is the American Civil War, a war the country fought from 1861 to 1865.
The Union, commonly known as the North, faced secessionists in eleven Southern states known as the Confederate States of America or the South. The Union won the war, after four years of intense combat which left up to 750,000 soldiers dead guaranteeing civil rights to the freed slave.
World War I also known as the First World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that began on July 28th, 1914 and lasted until November 11th, 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, including the victims of a number of genocides.
The American entry into World War I came in April 1917, after two and a half years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral during the war. The sinking of the British passenger liner RMS Lusitania in May 1915 caused a storm of protest in the United States, as 128 American citizens were among the dead. Wilson asked Congress for “a war to end all wars” that would “make the world safe for democracy”, and Congress voted to declare war on Germany on April 6.
Fortunately, our side, Democracy, won the war!
Known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world’s nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries.
Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, in which approximately 11 million people were killed, and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centers, in which approximately one million were killed, and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history.
Fortunately, Democracy triumph again. The loss of lives wasn’t in vain!
After all these many years where this nation has been fighting slavery, greed and expansion at such a high costs of lives to save Democracy, it seems that the world will collapse when we hear that we are ready to fight again, this time for a toilet.
We are referring to the Transgender Public Accommodations Bill recently approved by the Massachusetts Senate and the House of Representatives that would allow people to use public bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender with which they identify.
We realize that this decision may affect a majority while benefit a minority, but isn’t that the foundation of Democracy, protect and defend the Civil Rights of those who cannot do it for themselves? Isn’t that what we have been fighting for so long?
