Post by 2nd Bat on Feb 28, 2010 14:41:47 GMT -5
Classic movie of course and well worth viewing though it sanitizes the actual brutality endured under the hands of the Japanese. It is amzing to me that so much focus has been placed on Germanys atrocities with so little attention and almost complete silence inside Japan with regard to their horrific acts during the war.
news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8534000/8534377.stm
The story linked above is about a British survivor of WW2 Japanese POW camps who finally speaks out. I can vaguely understand why these guys kept silent so long, but if they hadn't, if more attention had been paid to Japanese crimes against humanity, perhaps Japan might have been forced to be more self aware, more honest. There really is a huge difference in the way Germany and Japan have dealt with and continue to deal with their World War Two crimes. Part of the difference may be that the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch, and New Zealand allies were more shocked at the crimes arising out of their Western culture they share with Germany than they were the crimes of the Japanese----perhaps a little bit of patronizing racism also played a part in letting the Japanese off more easily than the Germans. But the root of the difference between Germany and Japan in this regard is a major moral difference between Western culture and Confucian culture (and as far as I can tell, every other non-Western culture in the world). I've heard this difference referred to as the difference between a "guilt culture" and a "shame culture." In a "guilt culture," supposedly, people are brought up feeling that responsibility for what they do resides within them, while in a "shame culture," there is shame that others might know, but little or no guilt or remorse for crimes and offenses that are not publicly exposed. And even today, with Japan's defeat in World War Two having transformed the national character in many wonderful ways, there is still no exposure of, nor taking responsibility for, nor even acknowledging the existence of those crimes. This remains a major sore spot in the relationship between Japan and its Asian neighbors, who do remember Japanese crimes. But those neighbors would be no more willing to face up to unsavory sides of their own history than the Japanese are.
No one, no nation, no culture is perfect. But in some important ways, Western Cultures tend to be more morally acute and reflective (I would say "superior" if I was braver) than other cultures. Western cultures often take this to a dangerous extreme, exaggerating our own faults and atrocities, and minimizing those of our adversaries.
news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8534000/8534377.stm
The story linked above is about a British survivor of WW2 Japanese POW camps who finally speaks out. I can vaguely understand why these guys kept silent so long, but if they hadn't, if more attention had been paid to Japanese crimes against humanity, perhaps Japan might have been forced to be more self aware, more honest. There really is a huge difference in the way Germany and Japan have dealt with and continue to deal with their World War Two crimes. Part of the difference may be that the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch, and New Zealand allies were more shocked at the crimes arising out of their Western culture they share with Germany than they were the crimes of the Japanese----perhaps a little bit of patronizing racism also played a part in letting the Japanese off more easily than the Germans. But the root of the difference between Germany and Japan in this regard is a major moral difference between Western culture and Confucian culture (and as far as I can tell, every other non-Western culture in the world). I've heard this difference referred to as the difference between a "guilt culture" and a "shame culture." In a "guilt culture," supposedly, people are brought up feeling that responsibility for what they do resides within them, while in a "shame culture," there is shame that others might know, but little or no guilt or remorse for crimes and offenses that are not publicly exposed. And even today, with Japan's defeat in World War Two having transformed the national character in many wonderful ways, there is still no exposure of, nor taking responsibility for, nor even acknowledging the existence of those crimes. This remains a major sore spot in the relationship between Japan and its Asian neighbors, who do remember Japanese crimes. But those neighbors would be no more willing to face up to unsavory sides of their own history than the Japanese are.
No one, no nation, no culture is perfect. But in some important ways, Western Cultures tend to be more morally acute and reflective (I would say "superior" if I was braver) than other cultures. Western cultures often take this to a dangerous extreme, exaggerating our own faults and atrocities, and minimizing those of our adversaries.