Craig Jackson (Letters, August 1) tells us at length about the part NATO and the US have played in peacekeeping since WW2, but rather misses the point relating to the EU.
The most destructive international wars of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and the two world wars of the 20th, began in Europe amongst countries that now make up the EU. Million upon million upon million died as a result.
The original major intention in bringing together the European countries after WW2, was to put an end to that recurring problem. It has succeeded, and I hope it goes on doing so.
However, the inclination of the Brexit faction (and its counterparts stirring in some other European countries) is to resurrect the wretched nationalism that so conditioned national minds against one-another, and facilitated the moves toward war.
Nationalism – as distinct from patriotism – is a curse, but UKIP and others have seen fit to regenerate it in the UK as a device to rouse antipathy towards the EU.
The US has not felt the destructive effect of war on its own land since its own civil war, nearly 160 years ago, which is beyond the felt memory of US citizens. Neither has the US been beggared by war.
Between 1939 and 1945 it doubled its national wealth, while most other participants, including the UK, were bankrupted.
The two continents have a different feeling about war: in the US, it is something you do to others; in Europe, it is something that many remember having been done to themselves or their immediate forebears.
I am glad for Europe’s attempt to create a less dangerous future, albeit making some mistakes on the way.
I hope it goes on and makes a success of it, and I am sorry that the UK doesn’t feel stirred to be part of the endeavour.
John Tippler
Spalding
