Q: Can you describe his missionary zeal - what he brings to this mission?
GLUCK: I think that General Douglas MacArthur represented the way a lot of
Americans felt in 1945, having just won this awful war against evil, against
Nazism and fascism, in the service of peace and democracy. And, I think many
Americans felt that the peoples of the world, if given the choice would prefer
to live peaceably and democratically.
And so, MacArthur went to Japan with the missionary zeal, with the
vision that epitomized this view of transforming Japan utterly from this
war-time, imperialistic, militaristic, feudalistic, as he always said, country,
into a peaceable democratic nation. And, it's that missionary zeal that
MacArthur represented to the Japanese, as well: "I am the Supreme Commander of
the Allied Powers and we are here to transform you into a state in which you
will be happier, better off." And, you will experience, what he always said, a
spiritual revolution -- that's missionary zeal.
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