In “Armageddon” Vonnegut reprises the end-of war context in several short stories and nonfiction pieces. The searing essay “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets” concludes, in part, with these thoughts:
“There can be no doubt that the Allies fought on the side of right and the Germans and Japanese on the side of wrong. World War II was fought for near-Holy motives. But I stand convinced that the brand of justice in which we dealt, wholesale bombings of civilian populations, was blasphemous. That the enemy did it first has nothing to do with the moral problem.” Vonnegut’s take on war and warriors is astute, with relevance to the current American conflict. Included in the collection is the author’s final speech, delivered after his death by son Mark Vonnegut (who also wrote the introduction for this book). The speech is wide-ranging, at once biting and flippant. “Well, I’m sure you know that our country is the only so-called advanced nation that still has a death penalty,” he observes. “And torture chambers. I mean, why screw around?” |
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