Got Any Other Questions?

May 7 is the anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, a passenger ship destroyed by Germans.  Almost 1,200 people died in the tragedy, over 120 of them Americans.  The famous attack was the original Pearl Harbor to many folks in the 1910s.  Two years later, America entered World War I.  The Germans didn’t have too many questions after that except “Where do I sign” when presented with surrender documents.

At the time of this attack, many American citizens still supported Germany in the global conflict, the biggest war in world history to that point.  The United States had been neutral, although they were about as objective as John Madden broadcasting a Brett Favre game.  President Woodrow Wilson supported the British but pledged to keep his country out of war.  Well, that’s what he said until he secured re-election.

Millions of German Americans faced scrutiny and feared the worst after their homeland sunk the Lusitania, a British luxury cruise liner.  They weren’t attacked in the streets, but politicians also didn’t sit around trying to understand why the enemy attacked over a thousand passengers.  The only thing that mattered was identifying the enemy and defending our own.  Worrying about the feelings of our enemies didn’t seem to be a priority. 

Funny how times change.