B.H. Marsh wrote: <<If all of our ancestors had "neglected to serve" we would not have a Pennsylvania-Dutch heritage. We would all be British subjects.>> Some of my German ancestors were living in Philadelphia by 1696 and most arrived by the 1730s. That's 45-80 years before the Revolutionary War. I'm uncertain as to why you assume we wouldn't have a PA-Dutch heritage without a revolutionary war. A significant portion of my PA Dutch heritage lived under the rule of the British. Do you really believe that if there was no Revolutionary War that Americans would still be British subjects? Are India, Canada, Ireland, Guyana, and most of Eastern Africa still under British rule? <<The Korean War stalemated the onset of militarized communist aggression and turned it into the cold war, which was far better than what we had just come through.>> The Korean War stalemated the onset of militarized communist aggression it Korea specifically. There the war destroyed the unity of the Korean people, and we still see the repercussions today. The Korean War did not stop communist agression throughout the world, for example: Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, etc. North Korea will most probably eventually fall, and when it does I hope it's nonviolent. These other nations are attempting or mangining to forge their communism into something new that has compatablility in the global market. Let's give them time. If you want to talk about Vietnam, I will. But the PA-DUTCH newsgroup may not be the best place for such a dialogue. <<The Persian Gulf war, . . . . besides the obvious, (automobiles), what would your quality of life be today without oil. Think about that for a minute. Plastics are a petroleum based product, no printed circuit boards, no computers.>> I agree that the Persian Gulf war was based on economics, not on the "liberation" of Kuwait. IMO, it's a shame (even evil) that our American lifestyle can justify the deaths of 100,000- 300,000 Iraqis (through the war) and 1,000,000 more (through the economic sanctions since the war). It seems a bit irrational to believe that we would have no circuit boards and no computers, and completely no oil, if we refused to fight in Iraq. Our prices would be higher, to be sure. Maybe we would need to learn to manage our resources better? So I will continue to mourn. I mourn because war causes great death and yet continues to be justified. Before we get accused of having a "taboo" discussion I suggest that you or anyone else who's interested e-mail me privately. Darvin L. Martin Lancaster, Pa. dlmartin@redrose.net ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Visit other PDL listmember webpages. Links are Located at http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pdlurl.html