The 2nd coming that wasn’t wanted

2nd comings are usually things that are eagerly awaited after the initial event. For example, we at blatant© were eagerly awaiting the 2nd coming of our t-shirt stocks for the caffeine addict and the anti-suicide t-shirts, Christians wait for the 2nd coming of Christ, fans of the Lord Of The Rings were not only eagerly awaiting the 2nd coming of the movie, but also the 3rd and of course the list can go on till tomorrow…

However, there was a particular 2nd coming that came, took the world by storm, and left the world in ruins after it was finished. This was the 2nd coming that was wasn’t wanted. This was the second coming that we all know as World War II (WWII).

World War II was waged from 1939 – 1945, triggered by Hitler’s lust for power alongside the armies of the Japanese and the Italians which eventually left approximately 72 million people dead including innocent people who died from war atrocities and war related diseases and famines. The number of civilians deaths were gravely worse than military casualties, with a ratio of almost 2:1.

The monetary cost of the war was just as depressing as the body count. Analysts estimate that WWII cost the world’s economy USD1 trillion (in 1944 economic value). Money that could have been used for the betterment of humanity had to be instead be used for the defence of freedom.

The devastation of WWII still lives in the nightmares of the older generation, demonized by death and destruction. However, a ray of light that emerged from the ashes of WWII was the formation of the United Nations (UN) to prevent similar atrocities from ever happening again. The UN is hardly perfect, but at least by and large, many of us have been born into peaceful countries and blessed with economic stability. Don’t forget that it took a 2nd coming that no one wanted for us to reach where we are today.