The Thing About the 1940s I’m Envious About
I'm only (sort of) joking
Here’s an intrusive thought I’m going to unwisely share.
Sometimes I find myself experiencing this bizarre intrusive wish to trade lives with a Western civilian from the 1940s.
Obviously, this is an outrageous thing to say. I’m being provocative for the sake of being provocative here, so to cover my ass I will point out the obvious—that I do not actually want to live in this era.
That said, I utter this provocative phrase for a reason—to draw attention to the one aspect of the 1940s I do honestly envy. War, at any point in life, sucks and must be avoided. Literally anything should be attempted before one begins.
But at least in the 1940s, Western civilians would have been aware they were at war. At least in the 1940s, civilians would have accepted the same narrative, and thus would have been able to talk about it openly amongst their communities.
We are nearing the end of 2024. It has been a violent, world-changing year, the most eventful I’ve ever experienced. It was filled with insane news stories that will undoubtedly change world history forever.
Yet despite everything that’s happened—the crisis in Sudan and genocide in Palestine, the war in Ukraine and attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi and the plunge in global stock markets, the escalation of war between Israel and Lebanon and the massive protests in the UK, the overthrowal of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and demonstrations against President Ruto in Kenya, the intensifying anti-war protests in Australia and the “contested election” in Venezuela, all these things, and many more, but so many people rarely mention these subjects at all. It is as if none of it is happening.
When people are political, they may consider talking about Democrats vs Republicans, or Trudeau vs Pierre Pollievre. But this is all. They do not speak as civilians who are aware their home is at war.
Certainly, people may be aware that something is going on. Our media, after all, is doing their best to make sure everyone feels as Islamophobic as possible, so that they can prepare us for any Middle Eastern wars they wish to wage. They also really want us to feel like Russians are equivalent to empire-expanding Nazis, likely so that they may override the proxy war and have one that is more direct.
But people do not speak as if they understand we already entered war a while ago. Neither do they seem aware of its true nature.
This silence makes me feel irrational envy of 1940s civilians. I know full I would not have wanted to live then either. But still, I wish I were allowed to talk about this more openly today. I wish we could commiserate on the awfulness together.
Sometimes I imagine my ancestors back the 40s. They appear in my imagination like fizzing, grainy figures, coloured in black and white like old faded film. I imagine them passing neighbours on their way to work, or sitting at their desks beside their colleagues. I imagine them shaking their heads, and commenting on world affairs.
“Did you hear what Hitler did today?”
“Did you see what happened on the Pacific Stage?”
“Do you know how much longer until all of this is over?”
“Can you believe what happened in Pearl Harbor, in Hiroshima, in France?”
“I know we’ll get through this together. One day again we’ll have peace.”
“So many dying all across the world. Let’s bring this suffering to an end.”
But this is not what happens in 2024.
In 2024, I don’t hear:
“Did you hear what happened again in Gaza? 18 more innocent Palestinians were killed, and six UN workers too.”
“Did you know they killed another American without impunity? Can you believe she’s not even the first?”
“I heard that Israel is lobbying Congress to press South Africa. They want them to drop the genocide case at the ICJ.”
“How can the West warn of foreign interference, but not acknowledge we bend over backwards for whatever Israel desires?”
If you do attempt to say any of this, your response could always be:
“Huh? Israel is our ally. You’re an anti-Semitic terrorist.”
And the world is beginning to arrest people for expressing this opinion.
So instead, conversations must be blander. We must talk about what’s on Netflix and the housing market. We must talk about travel and purchases and work.
I don’t mean to imply I am any better than anyone else here. I am also fully aware it’s not most people’s fault. When censorship increases and propaganda is out of control, you behave as culture allows. One cannot comment on reality when reality is obscured.
Right now for instance we in Canada are being told that humanizing Russian soldiers is equivalent to humanizing Nazis. Never mind the nuances in the Russo-Ukrainian war. But you’re still supposed to equate Russians to Nazis, when there are actual Nazis that do exist, and Israel is exterminating Palestinians in Nazi-fashion.
Canada is also constantly warning of anti-Semitism, while at the same time encouraging Islamophobia themselves. This article for instance written in the “reputable” Vancouver Sun claims that pro-Palestinian protests are a sign that Canada’s issue is not our political corruption, our expenditure on foreign wars while our population gets progressively poorer, or our health care crisis, but rather out-of-control extremist Islamic terrorism. If you want peace and do not support your state’s foreign policies, after all, you are after all an extremist Nazi and/or Hamas.
So how can you commiserate with your fellow civilians about what is happening when the state denies it’s true? How can they know who their “enemies” are supposed to be without looking to your government and media?
It is the same idea that was represented in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. In the novel, the fictional country of Oceania was home to civilians that lived under fascist, bureaucratic state control of the Party. Civilians’ only understanding of the world outside was whatever information the Party told them. This applied to their enemies. Oceania’s enemies were whoever the state dictated they were.
We have always been at war with Eastasia, the Party might say. And so civilians were required to accept they were enemies with Eastasia. And if the state abruptly changed its mind: We have always been at war with Eurasia, then civilians would be required to accept Eastasia as their new allies. As the novel quotes:
“Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil.”
And:
“The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith knew that Oceania had been in alliance with Eurasia as short a time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness… and if others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth.”
The West is constantly being told that we are required to hate Russia, China, and Iran. We are required conversely to accept Israel as our ally and are not supposed to criticize them. If you do, you may get called a Nazi or a terrorist or get arrested.
I feel like I could get through this better if I could just talk about this more openly. But most people don’t, and it is clear why. There is true danger in arguing with your assigned narrative. Information and propaganda is powerful.
But I long for conversation and political discussion. I was once a social person. But now it’s painful to engage with those looking in the opposite direction and perceive different villains.
It is one of many, many reasons why the world will not be free until Palestine is free.
Thank you so much for reading. I write every week for free because this information must be known. If you like my writing and want to support me, please consider subscribing to my free newsletter.
Writers and articles I’ve been reading on Substack:
NATO countries put their people at risk by escalating with Russia by Anti-Imperial Nexus
Ayşenur Was My Friend. Nothing Can Justify Her Murder by an Israeli Soldier by Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh
How the war on Gaza exposed Israeli and western fascism by Jonathan Cook
Presidential Debates showcase the political paralysis of the West by Robert Billyard
Media's Genocide Inciters Better Prepare for Nuremberg 2.0 by Bettbeat Media
Belgium punishes and threatens campaigners for Palestinian rights by David Cronin
Great writing as usual. It's difficult to talk to almost everyone these days because we each exist in our own bespoke bubbles. Much of what people are aware of is distractive nonsense. It's by design, as Chomsky warned years ago when the Internet was starting. The idea is to keep us all atomized. Plus the sheer volume of information, which includes all manner of narratives, can be overwhelming and confusing. And this makes people tune out. Sometimes that's not a bad thing for personal sanity.
I will try to end on a positive:
There is still some overlap where the truth shines brightly (like many people are aware that there is in fact a genocide occuring). and I think those are the areas where people can build sustained movements and pressure... But it's quite the struggle - the level of ignorance and delusion and apathy out there.
Blogging on Substack preserves my sanity in that way, Eleanor.
As an activist in real life, I have people I talk politics with, and where I live many people are pretty savvy about what's going on. I don't know many people who are pro Israel right now, for example.
But it's wonderful that I can blog about these things and that others can relate.
I wonder how subject to propaganda people were in the 40s now. Genocide has been committed for hundreds of years, but people believed that the west was bringing civilization and Christianity, etc. to the heathens, and that it was for their own good.
I appreciate that now we're encouraged to examine our own colonialist mindsets. It seems like a step in the right direction.