Quote:
Originally Posted by soot
I wasn't implying that you were worried about it.
I was assuming that that was the reasoning behind the comment you made, which I explain below.
It's very possible that I did misunderstand your post. If so I hope you'll clarify your position.
When you say something like, "for obvious reasons", instead of stating the reasons that you feel the way you do you kind of leave yourself open to misinterpretation though. Don't you? What's obvious to you may not be obvious to me and I'm left to my own devices, and my own understanding of history, to decipher what you mean.
I'm sure you'll be able to straighten this out though.
Here's the post I responded to:
Why do you say that the existence and/or use of the German military is a controversial issue?
What do you mean by widespread ambivalance among the (German) population and to what do you attribute that precieved ambivalance?
The only "obvious historical reason" that I can see which would adequately support such comments would be the long history of German nationalism, militarism, and aggression under the Deutsches Reich, Weimar Republic, and Third Reich.
I can't think of too much else in German history that would leave such a scar on the German people as to render their military controversial or their views toward it ambivalent.
If the existence of the military is a controversial issue then that controversy must arise from some degree of worry. That is why I used the word "worry" in my response to you.
In all events, I think that explains what my interpretation of your post ammounted to and why I came to the conclusion I did.
If you could just answer the two questions I asked you you'll be able to clear everything up. And I appologize for any misunderstanding on my part, or any offense you may have taken to it.
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Answering your comments is quite frustrating because you appear to be intent upon reading my observations as some type of criticism of the Germans. I am not clear as to
why you are doing this - but I will answer anyway:
It appears that our experience of Germany has been quite different. Those Germans I know are ambivalent about the use of German troops, following the experience of WWII and its aftermath. I have found this to be true regardless of age or sex. Many are committed pacifists; some are not, but are still cautious as to how and where German troops are committed. The comments of Germans on this forum provide evidence for my observations.
This is neither surprising nor unexpected. Indeed, it is basic. You have met Germans in the military. I have not. Perhaps the German military is far more enthusiastic about troop commitment than the public in general. I find that surprising, but I cannot speak to it.