The Postwar Hangover

By Olivia Pierson
​[First published on Incite 31/10/18]

It has to be said that so much of today’s political landscape reveals the lingering symptoms of a potent hangover from the bloodbaths of the two world wars which forever stained the 20th century.

Our present time in history may still be described in future history books as ‘the postwar era’, even though to those of us alive today, the actual postwar era was well over fifty years ago: the time of our grandparents’ and parents’ heyday.  Fifty years is not a very long time when measured on history’s timescale, it’s only about half of one long human lifespan – and many people now do manage to live very well into their middle or late 90s.  We know that in the postwar era there have been vicious hot and cold wars fought around our world, but none of them have been global wars anything close to the massively industrial-scale loss of life claimed by the two world wars.

Despite the fact that the second world war officially ended 73 years ago, we still find ourselves listening to political insults hurled around the marketplace, such as “nazi!”, “racist!”, “bigot!”, “xenophobe!”, “fascist!” and the yawningly overused “white supremacist!”.  Those who use these epithets do so knowing full well they still remain the absolute epitome of worst labels to sling around, whether their opponent deserves them or not; I only wish this litany of insults included the always passed-over “communist!”.  That one would really be useful.

So long as these terms apply just to insults, I’m not too concerned about their usage.  Robust freedom of speech exists partly for the purpose of expressing vehement aggression through words and debates. So long as we indulge our liberty in that realm where horrible ideas can be muscularly counteracted, it will help to stop aggression from spilling over into the realm of physical actions.   Notice that the more freedom of speech is hindered, policed and muffled, physical violence tends to metastasise in direct proportion.  It is no coincidence that every totalitarian regime brutally clamps down on freedom of speech just before it sallies forth to commit murder – a pogrom, a Kristallnacht, a genocide. Our hangover from 20th Century bloodbaths should serve to remind us of this fact by giving us a thundering headache every time we see this important liberty squelched.

The last 70 odd years of Christendom’s postwar hangover, especially in its German sphere, has shown how self-conscious and guilt-ridden they are, not only about the war but also about colonialism.  The countries of Europe have made serious attempts never to appear even ever-so-slightly nationalist in any way, shape or form. They have instead set their unified nations on a path to self-immolation by welcoming mass immigration invasions from all over the Third World.  Europe thinks this makes it look benevolent instead of fascist or racist. Where once Jews were chased out of Christian countries, now Muslims, in their millions, have been welcomed in with wide open arms.

Last week, Angela Merkel announced her decision to leave politics in 2021 after too-long an innings, while clearly Europe will be contending with the consequences of her decision making indefinitely. This is what the Guardian wrote:

While applauded for its humanity, many see her bold decision in 2015 to open Germany’s borders to about a million refugees, mostly Muslims fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, as having speeded her departure, diminishing her authority, dividing her party, her country and its European partners, and boosting support for anti immigrant parties.e

Applauded for its humanity. This “bold decision” to open Germany’s borders to Islamic refugees has hardly proved humane to the women of Merkel’s country – judging by the new rape and violent crime statistics – and that is what has brought such sharp division to her country, and rightly so.

This is how far European leaders have gone in order to shake off their postwar image.  They’ve turned their nations into melting pots, with multiple ethnicities and clashing cultures, instead of protecting their own national interests and thriving original cultures.  You see, nationalism was never the problem; it was actually the answer to how to prevent future wars.

According to Wikipedia’s definition:  

Nationalism is a political, social, and economic system characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation, especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining sovereignty over the homeland. 

Adolf Hitler was not a nationalist, he was a psychopathic power-luster who was the greatest enemy of his country.  Had he been a nationalist, he might’ve contained his concentrated efforts on harnessing the formidable energies of his own nation to build something inspiring and glorious; but he didn’t. He didn’t possess that type of nation-building talent. He acted like a greedy global imperialist, claiming for his own that which he had no business even trying to take: Poland, Belgium, Holland, France, Greece, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

Nationalist, my foot.

It will take a long time for history to make sense of the malevolent forces which were unleashed during the first half of the 20th century.  This task will continue to be hindered so long as we misidentify the real causes. A good dose of healthy nationalism and rational self-interest defining each nation, together with sane border protections and sound human rights – especially keeping robust freedom of speech laws alive – can go a long way toward relieving the wearisome postwar spectre.

If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer" ​ ​​​
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