Opinion of the "America First" movement?

[Psychic Octopus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee

They meant well.

[Earth]

They meant well, I agree, but their push towards military build up is troubling to say the least.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

A bunch of stupid, blind isolationists who would have happily let the free world go to hell.

[Lief 🗽]

The Nazis would control Europe, the Japanese Asia and the Pacific if they had had their way.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

This country would have been a lot better off today had the America Firsters been successful.

[Хahar 🤔]

Horrible People.

[Stranger in a strange land]

The Nazis would control Europe, the Japanese Asia and the Pacific if they had had their way.

A bunch of stupid, blind isolationists who would have happily let the free world go to hell.

Horrible People.

[RScannix]

I'll turn this on its head a bit: Say if we had entered World War II and somehow been defeated? Everyone would be saying, "We should have listened to America First!!!"

History is written by the victors.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

History is written by the victors.

Some (tell a lie; should really be "most") of the best work on the Nazi period has been written by German historians.

[RScannix]

History is written by the victors.

Some (tell a lie; should really be "most") of the best work on the Nazi period has been written by German historians.

Perhaps I shouldn't have used such a pithy quote. What I meant was that the popular view of history naturally reflects the victorious one.

If Germany had won the war, would Germans today look upon that era with unmitigated shame? If the Allies had been defeated, wouldn't the view that the U.S. should never have been involved be given much more credence?

U.S. involvement in Vietnam is heavily denounced now, on both moral and military grounds. However, if the U.S. had won the war, prior to the emergence of an intense protest movement, I think that the moral outrage with which we view Vietnam today would be much more subdued. Vietnam would just have been another one of those nations the U.S. intervened in, such as Guatemala, and certainly much less important in popular history.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What I meant was that the popular view of history naturally reflects the victorious one.

No, that's not always true either. I don't think that the popular view in France of the Franco-Prussian war entirely reflects the view of the winning side. And, of course, nationalist historiography is often as full of defeats and humiliations as victories.

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I'd rather not think about a world in which the Nazis won, thanks.

[Person Man]

Asses. Total Asses.

[RScannix]

No, that's not always true either. I don't think that the popular view in France of the Franco-Prussian war entirely reflects the view of the winning side. And, of course, nationalist historiography is often as full of defeats and humiliations as victories.

Very true. That ought to teach me to speak in generalities. But I still think it applies to an extent in the case of America First.

I'd rather not think about a world in which the Nazis won, thanks.

A horrible thought, true. But I like using the big guns when employing zany hypotheticals.

[12th Doctor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee

They meant well.

Everyone means well.  Shortsightedness at its zenith.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Politically blind

[Scam of God]

Non-interventionism is fine. I support it. To then say we need to create a massive military anyway, and then do nothing with it, as most of the America Firsters did, is the height of stupidity. If a nation is going to adopt a non-interventionist foreign policy, it only makes fiscal sense to reduce its defense burden accordingly. Otherwise it is beyond wasteful. I strongly suspect most of them were motivated by typically conservative he-man feelings, as opposed to any sort of genuine logic, however, so it can be excused.

[Governor PiT]

Biggest Freedom movement after the founding fathers. I would say the Ron Paul movement is 3rd after the Founders and Amerrica First Movement and than 4th was Willis Carto's movement via the liberty lobby.

[Governor PiT]

This country would have been a lot better off today had the America Firsters been successful.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Misguided "patriots."

[Sewer]

Some whre good, Most whre bad.

[The Age Wave]

Well intended but ultimately ineffective. The movement was backwards in thinking that building up military while advocating non-interventionism was in any way productive. Their values were misguided and they didn't have enough of a base to capitalize on. Lucky for the nation they became completely irrelevant fairly speedily.