Throughout history, we have had some terrible tragedies. Today we are in the midst of another great tragedy as the coronavirus wrecks havoc on the world. At a time like this, we can’t help but pause and look back at the greatest tragedy that has ever happened in our modern history, that of world war 2.
When you read the history books there are countless stories of war and savagery; the fall of Rome, the trading of slaves, the congo, the Russian civil war, the reign of mao and more. Yet when you look at the death count of each of these terrible ordeals, they do not come close to the massive numbers that died during world war two.
Throughout the course of that war 70 million people died. This is more than the 20 million American Indians who were butchered, more than 7 million people who died during the thirty years war, more than the 36 million people who died during the Lushan revolt in the uprising against the tang dynasty.
D Day took place on the 6th of June 1944. It is most surprising that something so recent has been left in the history books and barely remembered today. While it is fantastic to see countries now sharing positive relationships throughout the world, it is incredible to think that less than 60 years ago a terrible war raged across the world. The uncertainty that the coronavirus has created is likely only a small shred of what the people who endured that time felt every day. While no one knows how much damage the coronavirus will cause in total and how long it will last, it is a war against a common enemy, against a virus.
World war two must have been all the more frightening as it took six years to complete. For many, year after year, facing rations and uncertainty, never knowing when the torment would end, not knowing if family members would come home from the war, not knowing who would win, if there would ever be a winner, must have been an incredibly tough thing to endure.
While things are certainly not easy now and we must all do our part to ensure we can move on from this current disaster as soon as possible, we must be grateful that the world is showing a united front. We must take this lesson into our neighborhoods and into our homes, we must strive to help those who need help in these trying times and most of all we must be brave and look forward to the positive news that is always just around the corner.
