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Evidence of the repetition of history
In the article, Provoking War: an American Repetition Compulsion, By
Robert B. McFarland, various wars from the years 1775-2003 are discussed. The
author purposes that American provokes and repeats the trend of wars in the
United States. McFarland discusses several different wars including; WWI and
WWII, The War of 1812, The American Civil War, Vietnam, and 9/11. McFarland
gives brief reasons for the start of each war and his opinion of if the war was
necessary. He also makes reference to other authors who have the similar views
he has about war in the United States. McFarland feels that more wars will be
started, because the world population is growing rapidly and “we will be, or
already are, running out of water, food, timber, oil, and many hard to replace
resources” (McFarland 180). McFarland believes that, “if we take the needed
steps, this could become the most important movement towards peace and
prosperity in world history” (180).
First, McFarland mentions many different wars that the United States
participated in or provoked. McFarland gives the reason why the United States
went into the wars. The Americans were told that WWI was started because “the
Germans’ sinking of the British ship, Lusitania, with 1,198 passengers, including
128 Americans” (176). The American Revolution was supposedly started,
because the “colonials disguised as Indians dumped English tea in Boston
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Harbor as a protest against taxation without representation” (176). McFarland
also states, the War of 1812 “had no apparent reason for starting” (176).
Throughout the article, McFarland mentions several other wars and the reasons
Americans were told for the unnecessary bloodshed. However, McFarland has
given different opinions of why he felt some wars occurred.
Next, McFarland gives various opinions on why he felt certain wars were
actually started. He believes that America’s involvement in WWI was a setup,
because according to British Commander Joseph Kenworth in 1928 “ the
Lusitania was deliberately sent at a considerably reduced speed into an area
where a U-boat was known to be waiting with her escort ships withdrawn” (176).
Also, McFarland claimed that the American Revolution was started, because
George Washington’s promise to the Delaware Indians. Washington promised
the Indians “if they helped fight in the Revolution, they would be awarded a state
for their assistance; however after the war he forgot his promise” (176). The only
mention of a war being started for the reason told to the Americans was the Civil
War. McFarland said that after Lincoln’s 1861 election, “southerners knew he
would free the slaves, and there were hostile actions by both sides, and some
states began to secede” (177). These are just a few examples of the responses
McFarland gave through the article.
Lastly, the authors’ intentions for this article is to inform readers that
history can and will repeat it. The examples he uses are the various wars the
United States participated in. McFarland believes that the “United States are the
leaders of war and have participated in so many, because it is profitable” (175).
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McFarland uses an excerpt from Judith Herman, MD’s thesis to justify his
explanations. McFarland mentions the four main ideas that Herman writes about
in her book, but only one strongly agrees with his ideas. Herman says that
“trauma demands repetition” (175). This relates to McFarland’s ideas, because
these wars all have two common factors. The two common factors are money
and power. McFarland is trying to alert his audience to these two facts and that
they will never stop until we make changes. He feels that communities could start
programs to help prevent war and such programs could be effective and
beneficial.
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Works Cited
McFarland, R. (2007, Fall2007). Provoking War: An American Repetition
Compulsion. Journal of Psychohistory, 35(2), 176-181. Retrieved
September 27, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.