Buddy Larsen

Good points, thanks. I hadn’t noticed the automatic “loyal opposition bit…hmm. Yeah I can think of cases on both sides of the Pelop. War where a “loyal opposition” worked directly against national interests for personal political gain.

I can see how the war can be warped to fit both ways. That might stem from Thucydides who was writing the first study in power politics as well as a history, giving his work an oddly universal tinge. Thus you can have democratic Athens/America undermined by factions and beaten by a totalitarian government able to operate with a single will, while at the same time a conservative Sparta/America relying on a firm and legitimate constitutional tradition and a self-imposed image as the vehicle for liberty and self-determination.

I’m not a big fan of saying America is the “new Rome” and all that, although we are the only Western Superpower (as Rome was). But there’s a definate parallel in so far as once a power starts fighting beyond its borders, it’s very hard to stop (Rome always had to fight the next tribe or people to secure what they’d just conquered) and pull back. For us, WWI led to WWII led to the cold war led to Korea and Vietnam.

I sometimes wonder what would’ve happened if we’d just sat the 20th century out (this would assume that a Germany still strong after WWI wouldn’t have let Hitler in).

Any thoughts on how to correct the “automatic subversion” (other than the moral cliches about acting selflessly)?