From June 20 - July 31, World BEYOND War will
be teaching an online course on the accurate history of,
and debunking myths about, the Second World War -- with
an eye to preventing a (very different) third and final
one.
The course is not live or set on any time schedule.
The videos, graphics, text, interactive online forums,
discussions, and exchanges with the facilitators are all
on your schedule at whatever times of day or night you
find most convenient.
The
incredible lineup of facilitators, and all the details,
including how to reserve your spot, are at this
link.
Everyone registered for the course will receive PDF,
ePub, and/or mobi (kindle) versions of David Swanson's
book Leaving World War II Behind, which will
provide additional reading to those who want to go
beyond the written, video, and graphic materials
provided in the course.
This book documents the
case that World War II happened in such a different
world that it has little relevance to today’s foreign
policy, as well as the case that U.S. participation in
WWII was not justifiable. Specifically, WWII was not
fought to rescue anyone from persecution, was not
necessary for defense, was the most damaging and
destructive event yet to occur, and would not have
happened had any one of these factors been missing:
World War I, the manner in which WWI was ended, U.S.
funding and arming of Nazis, a U.S. arms race with
Japan, U.S. development of racial segregation, U.S.
development of eugenics, U.S. development of genocide
and ethnic cleansing, or the U.S. and British
prioritization of opposing the Soviet Union at all
costs. The author corrects numerous misconceptions about
the most popular and misunderstood war in western
culture, in order to build a case for moving to a world
beyond war.
Here's are some comments on the book. The
course has received similar praise.
“This is a book of wide synthesis and trenchant
commentary. Keep it near to hand for those
all-too-frequent moments when you hear someone using
World War II to justify yet another horrific military
adventure.” —Nicholson Baker, author of
Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of
Civilization
“A mythic history
surrounds ‘the Good War,’ but the truth is far more
complicated than that told by Hollywood and in high
school history books. Swanson demolishes the myths by
amassing a huge number of facts, all carefully
documented, and leaves us the true, if unpalatable but
liberating, history of World War II.” —Kent
D. Shifferd, Ph.D., author of From War To Peace: A Guide
To The Next Hundred Years
“If you,
like me, thought that WWII was the exceptional ‘good
war,’ think again. In Leaving World War II Behind, David
Swanson brilliantly cuts through the myths surrounding
WWII, and in the process cuts through the fog of all
wars. Reading this book, I started to dream. What if
Swanson was a regular commentator on CNN, destroying the
arguments of every Pentagon pundit, Raytheon lobbyist
and warhawk politician? What if Swanson was hired by
Hollywood to review all war films for their accuracy?
What if he could oversee the history books taught in
U.S. schools? We would have what the military-industrial
complex most fears: a well-informed public. As we build
the platform that Swanson and anti-war
academics/activists deserve—and the world so needs—we
can start by reading this superb book and encouraging
everyone we know to read it.” —Medea
Benjamin, author/cofounder CODEPINK for
Peace
“In his latest book, David
Swanson passionately debunks many of the common
arguments used to justify the horrific violence of World
War Two. By revealing the less-than-humanitarian
decision-making leading up to the United States’
involvement with the fight against the Nazi government,
he demonstrates the inherent tensions behind the myth of
a ‘good war.’ No one hates war more than Swanson and no
one alive has devoted themselves more fully to its
abolition. This book is an expression of his deep moral
commitment to peace.” —Scott J. Shapiro,
Professor of Law and Philosophy at Yale Law School,
Director of Yale's Center for Law and Philosophy,
coauthor of The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to
Outlaw War Remade the World
“The
proximate goal of David Swanson’s new book is to
challenge the moral arguments for World War II, the war
that supposedly justifies war. Its ultimate goal is to
make the case for ending war once and for all. This is a
brave, passionate, brilliant book, which should be read
by anyone who gives a damn about humanity’s
future.” —John Horgan, science journalist
and author, The End of War.
“David
Swanson’s Leaving World War II Behind, could have been
easily entitled leaving revisionist history behind
because he shatters all the self-congratulatory
distortions that justified U.S. participation in the
‘good war’ of WWII. In systematically dismantling the
moral and political reasoning of U.S. policy-makers
leading up to, during, and after the great war, Swanson
reveals how little has changed with the arguments and
technics elites use to mask their real intentions and
win over ordinary working class people, who fight the
elites’ wars, to an agenda that does not have anything
to do with them. In a rational society, Swanson’s latest
would be incorporated into the school curriculum from
middle-school on. But this is not a rational or a moral
society. And this is why the existence of a David
Swanson is such a wonder.” —Ajamu Baraka,
contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report and
writer for Counterpunch.
Learn
more.
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BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, chapters,
and affiliated organizations advocating for the
abolition of the institution of war.
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