Figure 1.--Many American first became aware of the deadly peril of totalitarianism when the Germans marched into Paris (June 14, 1940). It was because of France's great intelectual and cultural heritage that is called the city of lights. as a resulr, of all the cities liberated by American armies and industrial might, it was the liberation of Paris that most powerfully symbolized the role of America in saving Western civilization with its great gift of freedom. Gen. Eisenhower at first opposed diverting troops to Paris because it would slow down the advance toward the Reich. Here the American 28th Infantry Division American moves through Paris. This was no spit and polish parade. The Americans in full battle dress with their vehicles and equipment marched through the center of Paris in pursuit of the retreating Germans (August 26, 1944).

America saved the world from powerful, evil totalitarian regimes (the NAZIs, Japanese militarists, and the Soviet Communists). This accomplished no less than saving Western civilization and its great gift of freedom. And this meany not only savong the west, but the people of Africa, Asia, and Latin america as well. Western civilization began in Greece and the Levant with two different threads. First in Greece with the creation of democracy and a primitive form of capitalism. This unleased the creative capabilities of the citizens of th various city states. This enabled them to not only defeat the seemingly overwealming power of the mighy Persian Empire and to generate intelectual and artistic cultural outburst unparalled in human history. At about the same time, the Hebrews in the Levant were developing the basis of modern Judaism which its focus on the value of the individual nd individual responsibility. These two traditions were fused by St. Paul during the Roman era into the basis of what we now call Western Civilization. Over the mext two millenium through the cultural decline of the Dark Ages, Western Europe advanced. Its defining formative moments were the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enligtenment. Out of this came political (democracy) and economic (capitaism) freedom. The result was an explosion of crearive energies that gave Europe the technoloigal capacity to dominate much of the world with both positive and negative consequences. The earthshatering consequences of Western civilaztion began to transfor civilization with the advance of capitalism, the industrial Revolution and the American Republic (18th century). the American Reoublic. This lead to massive techjnological advances, increases in productivity, and liberal democracy (19th century). The essence of liberal demnpocracy is that the state is the servant of the individual and responsible to its people. For the first time in human history, large numbers of average prople began to lead prosperous comfortable lives. Progress was slow and uneven in Europe, but proceeded and a phenomenal pace in America where the forces of democracy and capitaloism were unleashed on an entire virgin continent. Another thread appeared at the same time, Marxist socialism which in various forms mixed with to varying degrees with hyper nationaism and old enmnities created the great tolalitarian powers of the 20th centuries. The inifying threat of the totalatarians was that the individual and his interests were subservient to the state, in esemnce the property of the state. Largely as a result of the horrors of World War I, the great totalirarian powers rose in Europe and Asia. They included Fascism in Western Eutope (Italy and Germany), Communism (Russia), and Fascist-like militarism (Japan). And by the mid-20th century, these totalitarian powers through massive military spending had amassed military power and the desire to use it to restructure the existing world order and murder hundreds of millions of unwanted people. These totalitarian powes committed attrocities beyonf human comprehension. All the achievements of Western civilization were suddently at risk. Their power exceeded that of the Western liberal democracies. Only two developments prevented the victory of the totalitarians. First the totalitarians broke their united front when the NAZIs invaded Soviet Russia. Second, the United States monilized both democracy and capitalism on a unprecdented scale to destroy the Fascist powers with a tidal wave of industrial production. America not only played a key role in defeating the Fascist Axis powers, but managed to convert them into model democracies--am achievement as great as the military victory. The Soviet Union and Red Army was vital in the Allied World War II victory. But the Soviets were part of the totalitarians coalition that launched World War II. These totalitarian powers that threatended Western civilization all committed attrocities of their own on a phenomenal level. The result was the Cold War in which the United States again was the central power in destroying the final World War II totalitarian power--the Soviet Union. Not only did America in large measure because of the internal contraductions of sociaism, help engineer the implosion of the Soviet Union, but helped bring abour reformns in Communist China that has significatnly reduced its more murderous character.

Created: 1:41 AM 8/14/2015
Last updated: 1:42 AM 8/14/2015