Commentary
In the 1940s ordinary young people threw themselves en masse onto beaches raked with machine gun fire, flew into clouds of flak, and died, to stop fascism and totalitarianism. They were imperfect, they committed their own crimes, some were there for hate, some abused and murdered. But most were ordinary people, from ordinary jobs in ordinary towns and suburbs, who agreed to fight so that others would be free to choose their own path.
They wanted to ensure that those who hate would not dominate.
Following World War II, nations, their people and leaders proclaimed that persecuting and systematically eliminating various groups—whether based on ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or gender—was wrong. All people, and all nations, were equals, with rights to own and govern their own resources. The end of colonization and subjugation. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and subsequent agreements were intended to codify this sentiment. These ideas were not unique in history, but the scale was….