Nothing has increased the virulent power of the latter more than the former. The Founding Fathers knew it (the dangers of imperialism, nationalism, war, the constant preparation for war, entangling alliances, the foolhardy quest for honor and glory, etc.) but it has somehow gotten lost in the translation by subsequent politicians (Lincoln, McKinley, TR, Wilson, FDR, Truman, LBJ, Nixon, the Bushes, Obama, etc.). How unfortunate, huh?
The enablers include those who are mixed up on the concept of "we the people", and thus think that anything our leaders do is fine, as long as these leaders are democratically elected.
ReplyDelete... the foolhardy quest for Honor and Glory...
ReplyDeleteHumankind summed.
Thirst for Power and Control are powerful motivators.
Even in our internal politics (local, state, federal) we see this. Republican -vs-Democrat, Conservative -vs-Liberal, Reality -vs- Fiction, Perception -vs-Perception... so it has been, so it is, so it shall continue.
Washington and Eisenhower, while they certainly weren't perfect, were probably America's 2 wisest Presidents at least when it came to this stuff.
ReplyDelete