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May 2007
Elsewhere on the WebVictor Davis Hanson’s Private Papers Victor Davis Hanson Archive on National Review OnlineTour Books
A War Like No Other How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
by Victor Hanson
Amazon.com’s Best of 2001 Many theories have been offered regarding why Western culture has spread so successfully across the world, with arguments ranging from genetics to superior technology to the creation of enlightened economic, moral, and political systems. In Carnage and Culture, military historian Victor Hanson takes all of these factors into account in making a bold, and sure to be controversial, argument: Westerners are more effective killers.
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson, John Keegan Hanson, for those who somehow have missed him until now, is a professor of Classics at California State and also is a part time farmer, both of which have contributed to his writing as a military historian. As a classicist, Hanson is well versed in the sources in their original Greek, and as a farmer he understands how agriculture affected the experience of the Greeks at war.
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
Hanson relates the life stories of his farmer neighbors, writing that their way of life will likely soon disappear, thanks in part to a federal system of agricultural subsidies that favors large-scale, industrial farm corporations over individual “yeomen.” This is a sobering and eye-opening book. by Victor Davis Hanson On first glance, The Soul of Battle appears to be three different books: biographies of two well-known generals—Sherman and Patton—and one who is virtually unknown today, the ancient Greek leader Epaminondas. Yet Victor Davis Hanson, a classics professor and author of The Western Way of War, makes a compelling connection between these three men. They were “eccentrics, considered unbalanced or worse by their own superiors” who led democratic armies on missions of freedom.
by Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Victor Davis Hanson (Introduction)
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May 21, 2007 5:12 PM
Cut America Some SlackOn a Lighter Note than Last Posting—Not For five years we have been lectured that George Bush ruined the trans-Atlantic relationship. But now we see pro-American governments in both France and Germany, and a radical change in attitudes from Denmark to Holland to Italy. The truth is that the Europeans neither hated nor loved Bill Clinton, whom they on occasion privately seethed at for not exercising leadership, or George Bush who swaggered and talked tough to them during the lead-up to Iraq and seemed to them to be rudely unilateral. Instead, after getting their teen-age anger out, they are starting to see that the United States did not fabricate Islamic radicalism nor order them to let in and then not assimilate millions of now angry Muslims. For all the cheap shots, the European public is worried about importing half their natural gas from Vladimir Putin, who now bullies Eastern Europeans, former Soviet republics, and dissidents well beyond his borders on the premise that his oil wealth and nukes ensure Europe can’t and won’t do anything. Europeans know they won’t or can’t stop the Iranians from getting a nuke, but hope someone—that is, the United States—will. And from the Spanish flight from Iraq after the Madrid bombing, the spectacle of the British naval personnel in Iranian hands, and the continental paralysis after the Danish cartoons and other serial Islamic affronts to free expression, Europe knows that radical Islam is both dangerous and has little respect for either European moral authority or force of arms. European Sobriety? So it is they, not us, that are returning to sobriety in matters of the trans-Atlantic relationship, and they are doing this not because of affection for George Bush, but despite their anxiety about him. And that is good news, since it suggests the warming exists apart from personalities, and reminds us that if the so-called and much deprecated “West” were ever to act in unison (the former British commonwealth, Japan, the US, and continental Europe), then radical Islam would simply have no chance against 8-900 million of the planet’s most productive, ingenious and democratic peoples. At some point, European statesmen are going to bump into a great truth: that they spend almost nothing on defense, but intrinsically have access to the United States military, both by shared values, or at least the memory of shared values, and the allegiance of the American people to this now ridiculed, now archaic notion known as the “West.” All they have do is to occasionally show some warmth to the United States, and we crazy American people whether in World War I, II, the Cold War, or the war on terror, give our all to them—at no cost. We sense that Merkle and Sarkozy and the majorities that elected them, finally fear that they were reaching the point of American exasperation at which the old ties were broken for good, adn Europe was truly to be on its own, and thus pulled back—in time? The Danger is Isolationism, not Preemption If I were a European, Taiwanese, Saudi, or almost anyone else who habitually complains about American presumptuousness, I would worry that the American public is reverting to its (natural?) 1930s sort of isolationism. Tired of cheap anti-Americanism, the burden of global defense obligations, and the continual erosion of the dollar, they wish to pull in their horns and let others in multilateral fashion pick up the slack. Perhaps the European rapid reaction force could respond to Estonia’s plight should Putin send in a punititive brigade. Maybe the UN could provide the necessary deterrence to protect Taiwanese autonomy should the island provoke mainland China to the point of invading. No doubt the EU3—Britain, France, Germany—could warn Iran not to nuke Israel—or else. These are not longer just parlor-game musings, but the look of the world if the exhaustion of the American people is reflected in retrenchment, best summed up by “These people are not really worth it, so let them handle their own affairs.” It would be a very dangerous attitude to adopt, but one psychologically understandable. Globalization is mostly driven by the United States, whether defined by the spread of the English language, crass advertising, the Internet, American pop culture of rap, jeans and I-pods or worldwide businesses like Starbucks and MacDonald’s. A global sameness seems to trample traditional cultures and appeal to the masses worldwide despite lectures from their elites about the dangers of such American-induced contamination. This influence of the United States is not attributable to strategic location like that enjoyed by a Germany or Iran. We don’t have vast oil reserves like a Saudi Arabia, or an enormous population such as India or China. Instead, it’s what we do rather than what we have that attracts others. Our radical Democratic culture of informality and inclusiveness results in an unusually tolerant and secure society, in which participation is open to all. Being an American can be like playing at a cut-throat, madcap poker table, but it invites any to play who are willing to ante up and risk their all. We can see this dynamism not just by the flood of immigrants—America takes more of them than all industrialized countries combined—but by the nature of some of them. Those who are sometimes most publicly critical of the United States, privately seem to like us a great deal. Why else would the dictator of Pakistan, an Amal militia leader in Lebanon, or a Turkish Islamist Prime Minister entrust their families either to live in the United States or to go to school here? Only in America can a Palestinian criticize the Hamas leadership, a Turkish woman wear a scarf, or a female Saudi student date. In terms of foreign policy, many of our troubles result not, as charged, from imperialism, but from this very democratic fervor. Of all the critiques of our experience in Iraq, few have pinpointed our chief challenge: we extended one-man, one-vote and thereby empowered the traditionally downtrodden, and denigrated Shiite population, to the chagrin of Sunni elites in and outside of Iraq. It mattered little that few of the Shiia were educated, or had any experience in governance: in the naïve American sense, as free people born into the world as equal as any others, they had a right to run or ruin their own country. By the same token, radical American egalitarianism is what terrifies our Islamist enemies. Bin Laden—many of the terrorist’s family were living in the United States on September 11—knows the insidious dangers of Americanization, both from his own wealthy youth spent enjoying the high life, and the failure of his Sharia law to compete with Spiderman for the attention of most of his flock. China, Wave of the Future? Other superpowers like India and China pose as third-world revolutionary powers. But both are plagued by caste and rigid political or class obstacles to full participation in their societies. A Chinese can become a fully-accepted American citizen. A non-Chinese American black, white, or Hispanic would never fully be accepted as Chinese—even with mastery of the language and the formal acquisition of Chinese citizenship. Abroad China does not care from whom it buys or to whom it sells, and hardly cares about promoting democracy abroad. In short, it is still America that is the most radical, revolutionary, and destabilizing nation of all—and thereby disliked for precisely the opposite reasons that the Left proclaims. What’s Being Left Have to Do With It? What, then, is the radical Left good for? Mostly psychological cover. It is our version of the Athenian elite demagogue’s dung on his boots or Medieval indulgences or the Bible in the hand of the philandering fundamentalist. Its rhetoric alone allows Edwards to enjoy his mansion, Gore his jet, the Kennedys’ their drink and drugs, Bill Clinton his sex, and Soros his billions—and China its cutthroat acquisitions abroad and its suppression at home. Proclaiming to be a man of the people these days can cover almost anything from living like 18th-century royalty to making the foreign policy of the United States look downright saintly. I am afraid that I got a lot of email about my rants about the brave new world of multicultural, yuppie international business people, and the pretensions that this new class of financial enterprenuer embraces to hide his zest for profit. And I am afraid that I feel my thoughts were too kind, rather than cruel. I don’t mind graduate schools of business. They do a lot of good in ensuring American competiveness. But like John’s Edward’s haircuts and paid $50,000 dollar sermons on poverty to gullible middle-class university students, we should not take their claims seriously—of promoting either liberal education (which I heard) or international brotherhood. And when they pontificate, as I was lectured, that the “nation state is through”, one wonders which nation state protects their entire system of global security, freedom of trade, and the rights of ships and planes to navigate without fear of piracy or attack. Or is it the UN? World Court? EU?
Comments (31)Chris Smith :Anonymous :What was that last posting? The "Penance" one? I read it, but don't entirely recognize your description (where are the "financial entrepreneurs" mentioned, other than Soros?) As for Sarkozy, I am beginning to think he is an optical illusion, like the one where a deep grey patch is made to look white when embedded in a flat black background. It would be "formidable" to be proven wrong, "malgré tout". Brian H :Found it. "Not With a Bang". Reading, reading ... Read. With the comments. Do you not detect some thinness in the superficial bravado? The quickness of dismissal of "historical" awareness seems to me to betray a deep anxiety that there is something going on, beyond their shuttered awareness, that may rise up and overwhelm them. I doubt they doubt their analytic and comprehension skills. But if they happen to be missing some crucial input, they know their conclusions and attitudes and assumptions may sit on a foundation of sand. It would be interesting, e.g., to see how many would find that a novel analogy ... As for the main thesis here, I wonder if one (you, me, they) would prefer the role of dependent or depended-upon. Who else would one trust? Shared loads are, of course, lighter, but covertly hoping someone else who carries most of it won't crumple is enough, evidently, to compromise one's mental health. Tom Jank :Okay, I laughed out loud at the "the failure of his Sharia law to compete with Spiderman..." Instead of complaining about being the World's Policeman, perhaps Americans should resent being "The World's Spiderman." To continue the metaphor, Spiderman is often unloved by the New Yorkers he risks his life to defend. Misled by the mainstream media, they resent his freedom, his seeming arrogance and the damage he "causes" when confronting evil. But when under major threat, the New Yorkers reevaluate Spidey. In contrast to super villains like Putin, Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Kim Jong-il, New Yorkers realize that Spiderman is, indeed, their man. They will cheer him, sing about him, and most touchingly, rush to his aid when he's knocked down. Peter Parker knows this, and also realizes that "with great power comes great responsibility." So, he pulls on the red, white and blue mask and keeps patrolling the streets of New York... J David Green :Billions would like to live in America. Why not use this enormous demand to foster the next America and reshape US foreign policy? Instead, we limit the best and brightest and enable those in mere proximeity, who happen to be semi literate and often resentful of our prosperty and ignorant of our history and values. JM :Essential vdh. In America an entrepreneurial spirit can invest any niche and turn on a dime. Should our unique liberty flame come under a potential snuffer that same spirit will be invested in destruction of the snuffers. Beware snuffers. Currently, our greatest enemies are other Americans now invested in gaining political power with limited mental assets and almost no other talent. A Kennedy, a Murtha, a Pelosi an Obama (real name?)a Clinton, a John (Haircut) Edwards: All seem to think that they can claim power by distancing them selves from their self description of the "faults of America". They point out the obvious, he's black, he's a white, he's Hispanic. He's poor, he's rich, he's gay-- To no avail--eventually. America is an idea invested in human nature--that is the true fact of American history. Eventually all humans recognize that self help is better than being on the "victim" beggar line. They, the power grabbers should know their limits ---they don't. They depend on White Guilt and black and Hispanic human America in the past has always selected against the "weak minded". Initially it was the "movement into the West"-- that took courage---no welfare state there. Just unlimited horizons where danger and potential death lurked. Ignorance on what America really is all about is combated by vdh, Thomas Sowell, Walter E Williams, Shelby Steele, the Founding Fathers and their writing, Men/Women who go to work everyday and other American Farm boys who still know how to carry their own water. They may be MBA's simply because the south forty acres and a mule does not make a living that supports their talents. And besides the south forty is now farmed by an American Farmer who needs a Agronomy BS and MBA to farm the consolidated south forty's. It all about filling niche's and exploiting opportunities. Exploiting is still a good word in America because "anyone" with energy can do it. spacemonkey :Wow, ever think of writing a book? Kevin Merkelz :Dear Mr. Hanson, I've read several of your books ("A War Like No Other", "The Western Way of War", and "Why the West Has Won"); I'm an avid reader of your blog, as well as your "VDH Private Papers" website. I read your column everytime that it appears in the editorial page of my Chicago Tribune. I'm no history scholar. In fact, I am just a 20-year old film student at an art school: Columbia College Chicago. I was first turned on to the fascinating story that is ancient history by my mom, who homeschooled me from kindergarten through my sophomore year of high school. My interest in history went dormant for a few years before it was reawakened by none other than a Western Civ professor at my local community college. He was the first person who ever taught me that ancient history is very much alive and still affects our world today (I had always assumed that while ancient history was fascinating, but irrelevant). This professor opened my eyes to the idea that there are deep-rooted conflicts between the East and the West that have been present from the the times of the Persian Wars, through the Crusades, and into the modern war against terror. Regrettably, as a film student, there isn't much room in the curriculum for excessive amounts of history classes. And ever since that wonderful Western Civ class several few years ago, I have been searching for another "professor" to guide me in my love of history. In you, I have found such a teacher! My mom turned me on to your books this past December when she gave me your book, "A War Like No Other", for Christmas. Since then I tracked down your other books and tore through "The Western Way of War" (your detailed descriptions of hoplite war were spell-binding, and I was able to impress my friends after seeing the movie "300" with the knowledge that I learned from your book) and "Why the West Has Won" (which is the most personally influential book I have read in a very long time-- I even tracked down the UK hardcover version of it because I liked the title "Why the West Has Won" better than the U.S. version, "Carnage and Culture"). If my community college professor introduced me to the idea of looking at ancient history as something still relevant in today's politics and conflicts, you introduced me to the entire concept of "The West". I'm embarrassed to say it, but I never before caught on to the idea that there were Western nations and non-Western nations--that diverse countries like England, the U.S., Germany, Greece, Spain, etc. were actually very similar at their roots. Reading your books and your blog has not only made me proud to be an American, but, more importantly, proud to be a Westerner. It's difficult to put into words, but you've altered my perspective on how I look at current world events, and I'm very grateful. I've wanted to write you an e-mail for a long time, and now that my spring semster is finally complete, I had the time to sit down and organize my thoughts a bit. (Although I'm sure this e-mail wandered a bit more than you would have liked.) In brief response to your most recent blog postings: If you think it's tough speaking about western civilization and globalization with business leaders and graduate school "yuppies", try doing the same with liberal art school students. They're vastly left-wing, opinionated, vocal, and utterly ignorant of the broader context of history. To my fellow art school students, the war on terror with Islamic militants is not a continuation of the East/West and Christian/Islamic conflict that began 1000 years ago with the Crusades, but rather, it is a war for oil by the evil "Bush Regime". At my school, sometimes I feel like a lone Leonidas, trying to hold the pass of logic and reason against an overwhelming tide of my opinionated and historically ignorant fellow students. Sometimes I worry for my generation. What will we do with the world we inherit? Mr. Hanson, I apologize for this longwinded e-mail. I'm sure you're a very busy man, and if you took the time to read this e-mail all the way through, I am honored. You educate me. You inspire me. You keep my love of history alive. I eagerly await the release of your next book (which, I believe, is about the Boetians? How fascinating!). I'll be one of the first to buy it.
Kevin Merkelz Peter :Great piece by Dr. Hanson (as always), but it's "iPod" and "McDonald's". Whether the error is that of writer or copy editor, I couldn't help but read those lines with a Montgomery Burns-esque patrician sneer. ("You there, with your I-pod and "Mac-Donald's sack...get back to work!") Eric Johnson :To Spacemonkey: Mr Merkelz mentions several of Dr Hanson's books. I'd highly recommend the aforementioned /Carnage and Culture/. To Mr Chris Smith: How cruel of you! Whether one is brought to it by some defect of character or consignment of fate and duty, a career in public office should never be wished on another human being by anyone. To the point at hand: I work in scientific academia, closely associated with European colleagues on a day to day basis. I've seen the cheap, self-righteous anti-Americanism up close, not through news reports. I've seen the professional and highly educated of western (not to say Western) Europe and experienced the quality of their character. I fall under the category of "too late?" The thought of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who died defending and rebuilding western Europe in the last century invokes a feeling of tragedy in me. The concept that another American soldier, the current examples of which I am so intensely proud - the Best of us, might be called on to fight in risk of their own life for western Europe again calls up a sense of dread. The idea that these same people wouldn't bat an eye to demand that service and sacrifice as their due entitlement fills me with anger. Isolation is not a beneficial policy. There are nations in the world worth standing with as they stand themselves: Australia, Japan, Israel, Poland... But like the theme of one of Dr Hanson's columns from April, it is my honest feeling that the whole of France, Germany, Belgium, and Spain are not worth the cost of another single drop of blood from an American soldier. They should be left to their own devices and their own fate, whatever it may be. To Dr Hanson: Please keep writing sir. armchair pessimist :Your post-modern, internationalist business kids remind me of a story, possibly a seaside myth, of the resort owner who had one of the lifeguards put up a sign on the beach: But he posted the sign seaward. Reality will bite. Webutante :Victor, it seems to me that if you never get another award or any more positive feedback again from all your voluminous writings on Western civilization as long as you live, then Kevin Merkelz's e-mail above alone should be enough to see you through. What a terrific influence you've had on his life and perspective on the world, as you have had on mine. Hopefully it goes a long way in making it all worthwhile. Simon M :Loved this post. I understand that Victor has daughters who are by now young adults. What does Victor make of his daughters ipod generation. Do they have an underlying attitude of realism, or a liberal lefty mindset. Paul M :Eric Buhrer :Dr. Hanson, Rene Buchard :It seems that the will and independence of Europeans has been smothered beneath the welfare state cloak. Only the US military has allowed the Europeans to smother their people so thoroughly, by providing for European defense throughout the 20th century's wars I, II, and III. Confronted with world war I of the 21st century (WW IV of the 20th), Europe is in no condition to assert its own will to self-survival. Dependency does that to a person or a nation. JohnMc :Simon M, the kids are alright! Their IPods are to them what CD's were to us, that LP's were to our parents. Just look around: [] Though bumpy last year, recruitment is up for the DoD this year. Which in an economy that is at record unemployment says that the kids are joining as much for something else as more than a mere paycheck. [] My God they can be productive! I have been in the IT business 30 years. Grew up with it. But these kids! They cruise the internet doing mashups like it is a walk in the park. If it's cyberwar the East wants, well the old tale, 'ask carefully what you wish for. You might get it', comes to mind. [] Most know what they want. That's a far cry from my youth, but most of the young I touch base with today our out to get their dream. Can't ask for more than that. [] Liberal studies? They are liberal studies! Try and shoe horn a 20 something today into a marketing pattern. Can't be done. As a consequence the mass marketing I grew up with is dead. Behold the kids! They are doing ok. Ed Brandwein :Your comments on resurgent isolationism are telling. It is a theme that I hear more and more in casual conversations with people around me these days. It really isn't hard to understand either. Grumpy Old Man :"[T]he American public is reverting to its (natural?) 1930s sort of isolationism. Tired of cheap anti-Americanism, the burden of global defense obligations, and the continual erosion of the dollar, they wish to pull in their horns and let others in multilateral fashion pick up the slack." I'm of this persuasion, except I'd go back to the 1897, before the Spanish War. There is little danger that the Old World will fall into the hands of one united hostile power. We should revert to our armed neutrality. The whole moralizing, interventionist stance, epitomized by Woodrow Wilson, was a giant, mistaken aberration. Had we stayed out of WWI, and Germany had won, millions of lives would have been saved. Time to unravel all those obsolete foreign entanglements. Darren, MB, SC :Very insightful. Straight-forward, to the point, brutal honesty. The bane of the left. fgmorley :To JM et.al. Stuart D. Tompkins :VDH ... fantastic summary of current events. I could not convince anyone I know two/three years ago that Germany's Schroeder and France's Chirac were going, mainly because no sane person could fail to see the utter in-eptitude of both these so-called leaders. Now we have Merkel and Sarkozy, a vast improvement. I will be looking for your books at Barnes/Noble and I found your blog via Michelle Malkin ... great writing! TBranin :At my advanced age of over 65, Mr. Markelz speaks for me too. I love history, always have. Dr. Hanson's works have just confirmed me in my feeling of the importance of history, and I have read most of them along with his blogs and essays. I would like to recommend Mr. Markelz to the works of Shelby Foote on the Civil War. In his work on the capture of Vicksburg by Grant(The Beleaguered City), he notes that Ulysses tried and failed 7 times to take the city. He did so on the 8th try. What lesson here? Demand of perfection is deadly. Trying and failing is okay, on the other hand quitting short of victory is deadly to long term interests both personal and political. It seems that in our present 21st century culture, we have grown intolerant of failure and demand instant perfection. Through Dr. Hanson and others, history reminds us that such an attitude does not comport with human nature. This is the danger that I see today in America. I am blessed to be able to stroll daily through a 320 acre cemetery. Over there we have here over 1000 Civil War veterans' graves, several Revolutionary War soldiers' graves, War of 1812, Spanish American War and the graves from all the other wars of the last two centuries. There is also the grave of one soldier who died on the USS Indianapolis. His parents placed a monument there to his memory. Looking out on the hundreds of American flags placed on all veterans graves by Viet Nam veterans from the local American Legion Post and VFW, my eyes can tear up. Remember that failure in the pursuit of liberty is okay which is what they would endorse. God bless this great country! Jrod :Regarding the response you've received from the Business school types on your astute observations: I think George Orwell summed it up perfectly when he opined, "some things are so stupid, you have to be an intellectual to believe them." Regarding Europe: there's a reason our forefathers (well, mine at least)left that place...! They seldom miss an opportnuity to point out that they're looking down their nose at us. But it is to be expected I suppose. The same transnational global elite-types that took exception to your B school comments feed their populace a steady diet of nothing but a one-sided narrative of how the USA is to blame for all that ills the world, then turn it around and present this manufactured animus as reasoned and thoughtful "global opinion". If I can see through it, so can a lot of others, which is why I feel Europe is finally waking up.
MGCC :Minor quibbles to another good essay: the US has in fact been blessed with vast petroleum (and natural gas and coal) reserves; we just use our own production in our even vaster economy. The US does have an enormous population, just not as enormous as #s 1 and 2. I have been following the disconnect between the US' "diminished international moral authority" and the clear trends of other countries to elect (Germany, France, Canada) or sustain (Japan, India, Australia, UK, Poland, S. Korea) governments that are either outright friendly to current geopolitical efforts or at least materially supportive. The exceptions to this trend include Spain (where the Conservatives were expected to win the most recent election until the Madrid bombings) and Italy (Berlusconi had already been the longest serving PM in post war history, I believe, and lost by the slimmest of margins). In fact, except for those two, have any other democratic countries moved sharply away from the US in their electoral results? Alexis :Dr. Hanson, So, are you concerned that postmodern corporate tycoons would turn humanity into a "city of sows"? Poetryman :
But the cure of all disease may be within our grasp. Imagine the if the trillions spent on "Wars of Choice" or
was spent testing every natural and artifical substance known to man against every disease know to man. Imagine if we spent the remainder on determining the molecular structure and sequencing the genes of every disease so that we could construct cures that while harmless and inert to ourselves, are deadly and irrestible to the viruses, anti-viruses, and bacterias that plague us. War is not the triumph of God. War is the failure of man. Though there are necessary wars such as World War II, most wars could be prevented. For instance, if we stopped buying oil from Saudi Arabia, the money that finances terrorism would dry up and the so called "War Against Terror" would be over. It is instructive to note that no major politician has as his chief goal, destroying terrorism in this way. Perhaps they don't really want it to stop....
tthomas :I graduated from college with a BA in history in 1983. History was considered a waste of time by most of my peers then, good only for getting into grad school for a highly paid profession, law or medicine specifically. Studying history had no intrinsic value of it's own to most of my friends. I continue to read history despite my education. The issues that stay compelling no matter what era or age you look at in western history are 1) the rising worth of the individual and 2) the development and defense of forms of government that recognize this individual worth. And on a more personal note, for me anyway, history reveals incredible, human stories. No matter the circumstances, people struggle with the same problems over and over again, when seen from a historical perspective. The older I get, the more valuable this aspect of history becomes to me. Most any grand theme or difficulty can be reduced to the story of one person--this makes history relevant for me. I have two quotes from Winston Churchill on my refrigerator: "Never, never, never give up" and "When you're going through Hell, keep going". Good advice. hayek :I was in Normandy this past week and visited the beautiful cemetary where over 9,000 of our heroes have their final resting place. I was somewhat surprised to see the large number of French and German(!) visitors paying their respects. Just as a remnant saved our society from the excesses of liberalism, so hopefully these representatives of ordinary Europeans reflect the sentiments that will drive their leaders in the future. Jason :Ineresting theory Poetryman but oversimplified wishful thinking at best. Our current conflict is with people that have no sense of decency. I think they would be what Hobbes termed as in their natural state. Therefore, if you subscribe to Hobbes something must motivate them to not destroy and kill. Unfortunately their governments are unable to do this task. As a result, our government and society must do this for the good of the world. Rio :Interesting piece. Is he saying all things American are great and good? That's a pretty dangerous position to take. With that attitude, before you know it, you will end up like the radical religious fanatics. (On a side note, he never makes a connection between Bush and the religious fanatics he appeals to. They may not be Muslim, but they are still fanatical in their desire to impose their strict narrow moral beliefs on the rest of the world.) The thing I find amusing about this piece is how strongly it argues against the invasion of Iraq. Clearly we are the super power of the world and our government and way of life (though flawed) is completely progressive. We have a lot to offer the world. But our clear place as the world moral leader has been called into place w/ our "war on terror". It was sold to the world and to the American public on a series of lies. Marketing at its worst. No wonder the American public is getting disinterested in world affairs. This war is costing us $$, lives, and it was based on false pretenses. I too think isolationism is a mistake, but we need to only get involved in real problems. Saddam was contained. He would have fallen eventually. As it stands, when we leave Iraq this time, we will get some religious fanatic running the country... I don't get the shots at the left at the end of the piece? Is he saying that the left is somehow morally inferior to the right? If so, I would have a hard time taking this guy seriously at all. Comments have been archived for this page. |
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Let us cut to the chase:
Will Fred! put you on the ticket as VP, and will you accept, sir?
May 21, 2007 07:02 PM