June 28, 1914 On This Day

[marko]

On this day, June 28, 1914 Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated.

This eventually led to World War I which directly and indirectly led to World War II, which led to the world we now live in.

Think about that: The murder of some minor political player affects us even now, over a century later! Some useless punk kills a guy in a country few ever heard of and here we are. A major 'butterfly effect' IMO.

Amazing how things are connected to the past and how different things could have been!

 

[latexman]

Interesting! Thanks!

More interesting is, no one has any idea if things would have been better or worse if he were not assassinated.

 

[euro]

Interesting! Thanks!

More interesting is, no one has any idea if things would have been better or worse if he were not assassinated.

Europe was a tinderbox back then. Chances are very high that WW1 would have happened anyway. Maybe a little later or maybe in a little different fashion.

 

[marko]

Europe was a tinderbox back then. Chances are very high that WW1 would have happened anyway. Maybe a little later or maybe in a little different fashion.

Sure. One can play scenarios all day, but it is what did happen.

Among other things, it led to the end of the Ottoman Empire, the eventual creation of Israel, the League of Nations/UN, the rise of Hitler, end of the Papal States, and, indirectly the creation of the Soviet Union.

Hundreds of world changing events sprang from one bullet. That's the point. Everything changed because of that day.

 

[Koolau]

Sure. One can play scenarios all day, but it is what did happen.

Among other things, it led to the end of the Ottoman Empire, the eventual creation of Israel, the League of Nations/UN, the rise of Hitler, end of the Papal States, and, indirectly the creation of the Soviet Union.

Hundreds of world changing events sprang from one bullet. That's the point. Everything changed because of that day.

And bad as WWI (and subsequently, WWII) were, now that single incident could end the world (or make us wish it had.) Russia apparently is moving tactical nukes to Belarus. Even if as some have suggested "it's just brandishing" it raises the chances of one incident starting something we can't stop. YMMV

 

[friar1610]

And bad as WWI (and subsequently, WWII) were, now that single incident could end the world (or make us wish it had.) Russia apparently is moving tactical nukes to Belarus. Even if as some have suggested "it's just brandishing" it raises the chances of one incident starting something we can't stop. YMMV

Much the same pertains in Asia - one errant move by the US, China, Taiwan, North or South Korea or Russia and things could really spin out of control.

 

[Koolau]

Much the same pertains in Asia - one errant move by the US, China, Taiwan, North or South Korea or Russia and things could really spin out of control.

Yep, much of the world is wired for a single event starting something we can't stop.

 

[CaptTom]

Recent events have me thinking about what we learned in History classes.

Somehow I was led to believe that these things were "in the past." People don't behave like that any more. We're more civilized now. Etc.

Nope. Nothing has changed. We've learned nothing. Sad.

 

[Koolau]

I was looking for this clip when I replied above. The very last sentence delivered is chilling though YMMV.

 

[Chuckanut]

Yep, much of the world is wired for a single event starting something we can't stop.

With all due respect, I think that such a wiring takes place over years and is helped along by many participants who make many decisions.



I am reminded of a football game where one team loses by one point because a kicker misses a 15 yard field goal very late in the fourth quarter. The previous 59 minutes of play are ignored. Nobody considers the penalties the kicker's team incurred that may have prevented a score, the missed catch of a ball that hit the receiver in the chest, the quarterback who fumbled the snap on 2nd and 2. Yet, they all led to the game being a lot closer than it might have been. Had none of the above occurred the missed field goal may have been irrelevant.

 

[Koolau]

With all due respect, I think that such a wiring takes place over years and is helped along by many participants who make many decisions.

I completely agree with this. It's just that (no matter how long it took and how many countries and diplomats and generals were involved) it's already wired and on short fuse now. Unwiring it is not only not easy, but dangerous as well. One wire cut (the red wire instead of the blue wire for instance) could bring the whole thing down - no mater what good motives one starts with.

 

[audreyh1]

Europe was a tinderbox back then. Chances are very high that WW1 would have happened anyway. Maybe a little later or maybe in a little different fashion.

Agreed.

World War One: 10 interpretations of who started WW1 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26048324#

 

[2017ish]

On this day, June 28, 1914 Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated.

****

Think about that: The murder of some minor political player affects us even now, over a century later! ...

Minor? He was the heir presumptive to the throne of one of the major european powers, and his uncle was 83--so the presumption was pretty strong....

 

[marko]

Minor? He was the heir presumptive to the throne of one of the major european powers, and his uncle was 83--so the presumption was pretty strong....

Maybe I need to rethink my entire premise.