Happy Armistice Day

Ninety-two years ago, November 11, 1918, the twentieth century's seminal war ended with a whimper - an armistice, not a victory.

Subsequent events conveyed the illusion of victory: The political and economic collapse of Germany; the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the collapse of the Russian Empire and descent into Civil War. Other catastrophic events were to follow.

In a prescient essay, John Maynard Keynes warned of "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" that followed. European wars continued to rage. Hungary attacked Czechoslovakia. Poland attacked the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Poland. The United States and England invaded the Russian arctic near Murmansk. The United States, Japan and England occupied much of Siberia.

The word "armistice" conveyed the ambiguity of the war's end. Despite our resounding victory over Germany and Japan in 1945, World War II also did not resolve the ambiguities of World War I. If you watch "Lawrence of Arabia," it should be apparent that we are still playing out many of that war's ambiguities.

Maybe we should reactivate the name "Armistice Day."