The soldiers of the Greatest Generation fought during World War II specifically to prevent the American people from having to live under Japanese or German rule.

“The greatest Generation we fought that battle so Americans would not be speaking German and Japanese today”

Watching Band of Brothers made him feel patriotic for America while increasing his disdain for Nazis.

“it made me like so much more patriotic for America but it also made me like hate Nazis even more than I previously did”

The dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 marked a fundamental, negative shift in American behavior and ethics.

“I trace the big change to 1945 and the dropping of atomic weapons on Japan. I think that that more than any other action by the US government changed this country on every level from its architecture to its attitudes to its religious expression and certainly to its politics.”

The patriotic response following the 9/11 attacks was shorter-lived than the one following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I would say that the patriotism after 9/11 was much more short-lived.”

The impact of the two World Wars contributed to the destruction of British family structures and the erosion of the nation's previous global standing.

“I think it was yet another thing that you know destroyed the fabric of Britain's greatness it was just yet another episode in this sort of ongoing destruction”