Lessons Learned at the National WWI Museum

This past weekend I led a marriage retreat in Kansas City. My family and I decided to take advantage of our proximity to the National WWI Museum to stop in for a visit. First of all, let me tell you – if you are ever passing through KC, the WWI museum is well worth a stop. It is probably the most modern and technologically up-to-date museum I’ve ever seen. Because of how WWII eclipses WWI (for several reasons), while I know a great deal about WWII, I have learned relatively little about the Great War. A trip to this museum is highly informative.

I learned a couple things of profound importance -

First, I am a capitalist. However, let me be clear in saying that because of the presence of sin, every human institution – including business – can degeinerate into an abusive and self-interested venture. The governments of Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century were primarily old-school aristocratic in nature. They were self-absorbed and didn’t do a whole lot of governing beyond collecting taxes and enjoying life. Because they didn’t really give a rip about the people, they had virtually no desire to acutally DO anything, the rulers imposed no rules on business and industry – the cities of Europe turned into massive sweat shops on a scale that we never saw in America – and poverty was rampant. But the rulers did nothing, because they were happy to receive taxes and enjoy dinner parties. They made alliances with each other to protect their business interests so that the tax revenue from the highly lucrative companies wouldn’t be endangered. Anyway, it created a total mess – and when the balloon popped, it blew up big. Aside from the intense devestation of WWI, this era ushered in the Bolshevik Revolution, with the consequences of the latter being felt to this day. Would there have even been fertile ground for that kind of social upheaval had the rulers actually listened to their people at even the smallest point?  This point taught me that while I do believe in the importance of the free market, I believe it is important that we learn from history what happens when a government becomes totally hands off. Governments need to remember that they are instituted by God to restrain evil and promote good, which means there is a degree of proactivity.

Second, and perhaps more immediate, I learned that Vladimir Lenin had been in exile in Switzerland until 1917. At that time the Germans, hoping to destabilize the government of Russia and thereby get them to pull out of the War, agreed to secretly transport Lenin back into Russia. In short, Lenin was seen as the “ultimate weapon” and he was unleashed upon Russia. The move worked. As we know, Lenin began the Bolshevik Revolution, turned Russian civilization upside down, and created a situation that spread Communism far and wide. Over the years, countless hundreds of millions have perished and billions more have lived in fear of annihilation as a consequence. And to think it began as a tactical decision on the part of the Germans in WWI to break a stalemate on their Eastern Front. We sometimes do things without thinking about the longterm consequences. Of course, not every decision in life is going to have the consequences of unleashing Lenin on Russia. But the principle remains: Be careful, be very careful, before you make serious decisions because if you miscalculate… the consequences may be severe.

Tags: Lenin, WWI