Twenty years ago today was far more than just the fall of the Berlin Wall. No, it was not "the end of history", as Fukiyama suggested a few years later. This event, coinciding with the fall of the brutal Soviet Empire, and made possible by Communism's failure in the Eastern bloc of Europe, was not a catalyst to a new utopian human existence. The fall of the Berlin Wall did not guarantee that there would be no future enemies of freedom to enter the human struggle. But what the fall of the … [Read more...]
Remembering 9/11
September 11, 2009 By
Every September 11 that comes will always be easy for me to instantly recall how many years have gone by since the 9/11, as my wedding anniversary is September 8, 2001. And even if I didn't have the type of memory to instantly say, "it has been eight years since 9/11" (which I do happen to have), I certainly have the good sense to always remember, "Honey, we have been married for eight years now" ... So, as long as I remember the one I will never have a problem remembering the other. And as … [Read more...]
Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War by Patrick Buchannan
September 6, 2008 By
If I were to title this review article, it would be: Churchill, Buchannan, and a Pleading for a Purge, for this review is surely not about Hitler, and not about World War II. Unlike the author of the book I am reviewing, I feel no temptation to wonder if perhaps Hitler was trustworthy or not. I do not believe England was unwise and stubborn to resist Hitler's offer to leave them alone if they would just let him take over Europe. There is no attraction to the novel idiocy of wondering if … [Read more...]
The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan
June 7, 2008 By
I would read a lot more books if they were all 105 pages. Kagan's masterpiece, Dangerous Nation, was nearly 400 pages, and was not quite the four-hour read that this little gem was. But then again, if all books, of any length, were as good as Robert Kagan's latest piece, I would read a lot more books then too. This masterful alumnus of the Ronald Reagan state department, who serves as the Senior Associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has once again challenged me in … [Read more...]
God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World by Walter Russell Mead
May 14, 2008 By
The 21st century has begun, and few could argue that it has launched with a bang, not a whimper. Less than one decade into the third millennium, and nearly all of the events, values, and patterns that dictated the direction of history over the last three centuries are being called into question. Francis Fukuyama has posited that we are living in the "end of history." Historians wonder if the age of Anglo-Saxon preeminence has come to and end. Economists and clergy alike interact with the … [Read more...]
