So I've gotten into this discussion a few times on reddit, and Ive just been going off my knowledge of the subject, but is there any significant difference of the two timeliness and how slaves of all races were treated?

My history of Spain only consists of them being a major power in the colonial period and then being a total pushover in the Spanish American War. What happened?

Before I go on to further flesh out what I'm asking, I'd like to be clear that I'm writing this from the perspective of a relatively young 20 year old American.

Whenever I see any material describing WWII, America is glorified. We are saints that more or less come down from heaven to then beat submission into the hellish German and Japanese soldiers. However, when I, myself, try to look at WWII in a critical manner, all I see are corrupt, Orwellian governments fighting each other and committing atrocities left and right simply because that's what governments do.

The United States sent over 100,000 Japanese inhabitants into internment camps with no justification, and Harry Truman was either stupid or vile enough to drop not one but two atomic bombs onto Japanese cities. Germany killed over 11 million political dissenters, including Jews, homosexuals, and communists, and equivalently, the U.S.S.R sent over 14 million political dissenters to the Gulag. Furthermore, the Japanese military almost gleefully carried out the Nanking Massacre as well as various other atrocities.

I understand that objectively Germany killed the most, but its intentions were no less malicious than any other government's at the time. When then, if ever, will we no longer view ourselves as saints in this period? This has already happened with WWI. I remember when being taught about it, my teacher pointed out that no side was easily identified as good or bad, and to me, the same is true with WWII as well.

So then, will my opinion ever be shared, or am I going to always be in the minority with my view?

Also, to be clear, I'm referring to how contemporary media portrays WWII. I would hope that historians at least have an unbiased perspective.

Edit ---

I realize that many of you dislike most of this post, but I'm still enjoying and learning from this discussion. So, thank you.

All I can really think of is the American South...

edit: The disagreement seems to be over the role the civil war played in saving or destroying Spain. Half the country sees Franco as a fascist dictator who set Spain back fifty years, while the other half view him as an imperfect savior of Spain from the communist menace.

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We got into a discussion at work about falling overboard a sailing vessel and being left behind. We were curious about the following question:

How would 17th century sailing companies, navies, and pirates deal with men who fell overboard?

Would there be any attempt to save a man who fell overboard? Did different groups during the era have differing policies/procedures? Was there a status level (rank? worth? aristocracy?) at which one would be worth an attempt at saving? Are there any great man-overboard stories?

Thank you so much for any consideration!

I came across this comment on an article about dog breeding discussing the owner's Frisian shepherd:

"During the Little Ice Age (ca. 1350 to ca. 1850) polar bears were the major predators of sheep in Friesland. The Frisian Shepherd was bred similarly to how the polar bear evolved, to be inconspicuous against the ice and the snow. That way, a pack of them could get the jump on any polar bears that threatened their charges."

Is there any truth to this? I am highly skeptical.

Did they have the maritime skills and resources to reach the Americas from Europe?

The only answer I have to this is that they were "scapegoats" which isn't such an intellectually satisfying answer.

The only hunch I have is that the Jews, as they often do, persevered in a much stronger manner than the average German before, during, and after WWI.

I'm talking about the average person, whatever that might be.

Alternatively, if you don't know about Aztecs, I'd be interested to find out about life in any of the major native American cultures.

Who has decided who can perform the Hajj? How long have e.g. Indonesian muslims been allowed to Kaaba. Has the access to Kaaba been subject to political pressures and how?

Surely he wouldn't have been able to survive so many battles? Wouldn't the leader be the obvious target to try and kill?