MovieChat Forums > All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Discussion > Great Film, and the U.S. Has Still Not L...

Great Film, and the U.S. Has Still Not Learned From It



I think Paul's speech towards the end about "dying for your country" and how stupid it is should be shown in every single school in this country. I'd like to show it to our president and to every single military idiot I've met. The irony is that if I did this I'd be called "unpatriotic" and "a coward," just like Paul is in the film.

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The largest crux that we face now, which was touched upon a bit in this movie, is civilian control of the military. At this point in time, the civilian population has more control over the US army than ever before. It has brought interesting views. Many high ranking military officers are speaking AGAINST many of the policies and actions of the current administration. While the propaganda machine continues to drum the line that Iraq is winnable, the US military is saying wuite the opposite. This is a FIRST in US history. The main problem - the war on terror is a flawed concept. Much like the fight against fascism, or communism, the approach of fighting it "anywhere & everywhere" is what built the faction we fight today. By supplying arms to fight communism "anywhere & everywhere" we destroyed one ideal and built another. The same happens now. The war on terror cannot be won, because it is not a person - it is an idea.

We are learning though. Hezbollah and Al Qaieda has shown that even the mightiest of militaries cannot quesll the violence. It seems that some other method beyond military force will be needed to solve our differences.

Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy... the fear to attack

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+1
And an idiot.

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+2

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geeks

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It's because of us "military idiots" that you have the ability to say and do anything that you say and do. Go live in another country for a while. One where there's no freedom. When you come back, you'll kiss our feet. I'm so sick of you ingrate a**holes. War is a terrible thing. And All Quiet shows us this, and shows us why. I agree with you there. It is the greatest anti-war movie ever made. War is not glorious. Niether is death. But war is a necessary evil. It's up to those of us who can to stand up and fight, and if need be lay down their lives, to fight for those who cannot. Or in your case, simply will not.

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Also, although i can't recall the name of the country, there is one that doesn't even have an army, (can someone help m with that, it was on QI.)

Costa Rica & Iceland

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War is only necessary if leaders of countries think that their country, ideology, general power over others should be increased. By now some of those so called leaders start or promote wars, because the (militarily) inferior leader of another country proclaims to sell his oil in another currency than he did so far. War is a power game, one that costs lives, and it is most of the time unnecessary and uncalled for.

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Unless you fought in WWII, you did not grant us the right to say the things we do since that was the last war to actually threaten our way of life. Every war since has either been fought either as the World's Police, for oil, or revenge.

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Yep, and this film was made before ww2.

In Vino Veritas.

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No, I think the word idiot would be closer to the mark.

I am sure the people in the Death Camps were thrilled that there was a military that showed up liberating them.


There are two types of people in the world, those who divide people into two types and ........

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If other countries would become intelligent enough not to do things that threaten war with the United States, we wouldn't have to go to war. Right now everybody's on edge because of North Korea boasting about its nuclear missiles and they're threatening to blow up Hawaii. If they didn't have nuclear missiles, we most likely would not have to worry about going to war with them, immediately after or even still while we're at war with Iraq.

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