Thread by @RaoulGMI

Remembrance Day

Many people are not truly aware of the magnitude of what happened in Europe, North Africa and Asia in the two world wars. We tend to know things from our perspective only. Today is the day we should all think about the full story...

In World War 1 40 million people were injured and 18 million people died. Most countries in Europe, and elsewhere, lost between 2% and 4% of their entire populations and a huge % of their young male population. Then it was the biggest slaughter in the history of human conflict...

But less than 20 years later the next generation of youth and many who survived World War 1 were killed.

World War 2 was of a different order of magnitude worse than WW1.

80 million people died. 80 million.

This equates to 3% of entire worlds population.

But those numbers hide the true enormity of the deaths.

Russia saw 25 million deaths. Some 40% of all Russian men were injured. It is simply incomprehensible...

China lost 15 million lives too.

55% of all Jewish people in mainland Europe were killed. In some countries estimates are that 92% of Jews were killed.

Overall, many countries saw 25% plus of males of working age injured and 5% dead.

These horrific events are beyond comprehension for most. But many need to understand this is why many economies in the US and Europe took different paths.

Out of war came the enormous numbers of injured. There was no way for the medical system to cope...

This rightly gave birth to the modern wealtfare state and free healthcare systems prevalent across Europe and Commonweath Countries.

This is why Europeans have a deeply ingrained different view on taxes and social support structures. They were the rewards for the sacrifice.

It also explains the European view on guns. With that and a history of other wars, civil and otherwise, we mistrust guns.

This is why there is a global distrust by the Russians, by the Chinese, by the Turks and by the Iranians. These countries saw enormous numbers of deaths.

Today is the day to give thanks for all of those who died defending countries and all of those who died, regardless of side.

It is the time to remember what humans are capable of - the slaughter and the bravery and compassion. That line is very fine.

It’s also time to realize why we all have different views on the role of state, country, nationalism and borders.

Just remember, your perspective is a function of your history. Understand and embrace the differences and we massively reduce the chance of a repeat episode.

Fin.