Much has been made of the Internet lately. Some have proclaimed the revolutions and the current toppling of Despots in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Libya, impossible at such speed without Twitter, Facebook, Google, and You Tube. Others, older, like Frank Rich, have said this is not the case. Rich, often right on, missed the point in his column of a couple weeks ago. There is no question the speed of events in the Middle East is a direct result of the speed of news and the freedom of awareness.
It took a century or more for the European monarchies to yield up absolute power. Today it seems possible that realignment in the Middle East may occur in a month. Centuries to a month. Time marches on, as John Cameron Swaze said, and today it marches with incredible speed.
What can one observe but wow, oh my god, yikes? We must marvel at the speed of these revolutions and this rapid unfolding of history, the force of this new youthful renaissance of a people. And, could Ghaddifi get away with greater destruction if the world was not aware of the mercenary slaughtering of his people. The answer is certain, he could. Without the constant pictures and information the pundits would not be analyzing, the newspapers would not be writing. News from Libya would be a trickle. Obummer might not care, or he might care less without pressure from the people because his major concern seems, his reelection. (Not that he seems to care that much now other than another speech without action).
It makes one wonder what a force this information age is going to be for history, for the future? At times in America the overwhelming volume of gibberish from the Internet appears to dull the mind with so much constant news of nothing. This is apparently not the case when it comes to significant events.
Imagine the history, the circumstances and evolution of World War 2 if the Internet had existed in the 1930's or 1940's. There might have been no war at all. And certainly Roosevelt would have needed to be more transparent, his motives of greater purity, as he lead our nation to war with lend-lease and his trade blockages of the Japanese. And what of the Nazi’s? Could they possibly have slaughtered so many millions in their death camps had the world known?
Today, people forget. We are tempted to say that World War Two was a war against the ultimate evil, the death camps, and the genocide of a people. It was not. Because until the US army marched into Buchenwald at the end of the war people were not aware of the Nazi slaughter. There were rumors. Roosevelt knew, and certainly many of the world’s leaders knew. However for Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, the slaughter of the Jews was secondary to victory over the Germans, and the realignment of power. Had the average soldier been aware? Had the citizens of the United States been aware? If Rosy the riveter had known? The conflict might have ended quickly or perhaps never started- a result of shear moral force and the horror at the genocide of a people.
What are we saying here? Had the Internet existed; World War Two might have never happened, and if it had, genocide of the Jews, slaughter the Chinese, the deaths of so many Russians would have been known everywhere. The world would have been aware and the five year slaughter might have lasted only months. Just imagine
We live in amazing times.
