What is Liberation? And it is worth it?

"Yes, Saddam Hussein was a horrible man, evil, terrible man and it is a good thing we got rid of him, but......"

-Typical Liberal diatribe regarding the War in Iraq.



I am currently reading a book about The Rape of Nanking, by Iris Chang.

In 1937, the Japanese invaded and conquered China at Shanghai. From there, they made their way to Nanking....slaughtering hundres of thousands of people along the way. Those that were not slaughtered were enslaved. Thousands of women were taken as "comfort women" or sex slaves. They were used as slaves to possible thousands of Japanese soldiers over and over again.

There were reports of cannibalism because the Japanese ran out of food supplies for its military. The men resorted to eating the dead Chinese.

These horrific tales were not written or spoken about for many years. The Rape of Nanking is not mentioned in many history books or memoirs of World War II.

I ask: Why?

Last week, on the Rush Limbaugh show, a caller stated that we Americans should pause and reflect on the 59th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He implied that we, America, should feel sad and guilty for what happened on those days.

In a recent post on this blog, I wrote about the Bataan Death March survivors and what they experienced. What I did not write was what event in history freed them from their captors: the Japanese.

The boming of Hiroshim and Nagasaki ended the war with Japan and freed the thousands of American POWs in Japan. Many survivors said that had those bombs not landed, they probably had only days left to survive. They were more than happy for the bombings.

It is reported that 170,000 people were killed on Aug 6 and Aug. 9th 1945 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That is indeed a tragedy....but many military strategists predicted that over million Japanese and American soldiers would have been killed in the land assault that would have taken place if the bombs were not dropped. Many survivors of the POW camps predicted that their guards would have killed all of the POW's to hide the evidence of cruelty.

So, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki indeed saved millions of lives.

But why did the caller say that we, Americans, should reflect on those historical events when 170,000 people were killed?.....and yet no mention of the Rape of Nanking is ever mentioned for its anniversary when 350,000 people were systematically slaughtered at the hands of the Japanese military?

Because the Japanese cleverly tried to erase it from its history. But they failed.

So, why am I writing about "liberation" and its meaning? Because many countries knew, beforehand, what was happening to China. Many countries knew and did nothing.

Just like many people (countries) knew what was happening with the Jews in Europe at the hand of Hitler's National Socialist Party.......and yet nothing was done.

Many countries knew what Stalin was doing to his own people in the Soviet Union.....and did nothing.


And as a result: millions of people were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered while other countries waited, appeased, and theorized about what to do.....including the Untited States of America. All in the name of "appeasement, containment, and sanctions"


While reading this book, The Rape of Nanking, I found myself constantly thinking of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq and their plight. I thought about how many years they went imprisoned and intimidated by ruthless regimes while other countries like France, Germany, and Russia knew of their situation...and did nothing to stop it. Indeed, they profited from the situation, all while hundreds of thousands were enslaved, imprisoned, tortured and murdered for years....decades.

Many Liberals state that they do not think the war in Iraq was worth it to liberate the people of Iraq. They often times state that we "should have waited for the inspections to be overwith before we invaded." This assumes, of course, that after we found no stockpiles of WMD's (only capabilities of producing them) the US would have just continued to use sanctions and resolutions to contain Hussein because, afterall, it was working, wasn't it?

Well, those thoughts are luxuries to us as we sit in our air conditioned and heated homes while we TiVo programs, watch movies on our DVD players, and surf the internet.

But to the Iraqi people who were purposefully being starved by Hussein (and France was getting rich with the "oil-for-food" scandal....) and while children sat in prison cells awaiting torture, rape and death....waiting for inspections, sanctions, and resolutions to work their magic on Hussein and his sons was not an option. Certainly, not a luxury.

I am surprised when "bleeding heart" Liberals state this plan or idea to me in their blogs because I think it goes against what Liberalism used to mean: stopping social injustice and tyranny.

One man wrote in a blog comment that he did not think the Iraqis were worth it to liberate.

This statement brings me back to the Rape of Nanking. Many other countries did not think the Chinese were worth protecting so they let them face the evils of the Japanese.

Who are we to sit and decide who is to be liberated and who is not? Has our wealth and privilege in this country given us the right to decide these things: who is "worth it" and who is not?

I believe this ideology of the Left is why I read and re-read so many of the blogs out of Iraq and the soldier blogs as well. I long to hear of the good things....and there are many!....coming out of Iraq daily. Yes, DAILY.

I read about the Spirit of America working with the Seabees and Marines to teach Iraqi men how to use powertools: not for torturing children of the enemy like in Hussein's days, but for building things. I read about the Marines helping to build sewing centers for young Iraqi women who need to earn income. In the sewing centers, these women sew IP & ING uniforms and have a child care right there in the center for their children!

All because some Marines thought the Iraqi people are WORTH IT to liberate.

God bless them all.

The Rape of Nanking, like the Bataan Death March, was purposefully kept from people for a time. It was reduced to a few sentences in history books until brave people came out and began to research it. Now, books are written about it and a museum is built to commemorate it.

As a painter, I will be doing an independent study on the Rape of Nanking this Fall at college. It will be my way of honoring the Chinese who were victims to one of the worst acts of human evil in world history. It will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it.

To all the Iraqi people.....what happened to you under Hussein will be in the history books because you are being heard. Tell your story so we all can learn from it.

Because one day, it may be us, the Americans, who will need to be liberated from our enemies.......and I sure hope other nations like Iraq and Afghanistan will consider us "worth" liberating.


"Blessed is he who considers the poor! The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble;
the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land;
thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies."

-Pslam 41:1-2