General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This is what a REAL Democrat sounds like. [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)The ones making money off the war machine found him entirely acceptable. Like any matter, where you stand depends on where you sit. He certainly didn't declare war to make money, he did it based on principle (and the fact that Japan attacked us), but he--and many of his friends--did end up making money off that conflict. It's what happens when nations go to war.
I think anyone who demands that people regard FDR's presidency in an unrealistic light is the true "contrarian" without the ability to appreciate "historicity" -- when we forget our history, cartoon it, paint it over, overlook portions of it--particularly the ugly bits, we're condemned to repeat them. You can regard a person as a lion of history, and still appreciate that their mane might not have been perfectly combed.
Except, maybe, here. The cartoonish approach to complex times in our history I see coming from some quarters sometimes reminds me of an eighth grade US history book.