 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March 2008
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)
|
March 23, 2008 8:53 PM
A Look Back at the Obama WeekDoes Success Breed Anger? Michelle Obama has two Ivy League degrees, private school for her children, a third-of-a-million-dollar salary, a large home, and a U.S. Senator as husband and would-be President—and says she has hitherto not been proud of the United States. Rev. Jeremiah Wright has created a huge following in his Trinity Church, merchandises his lectures, enjoys nationwide recognition, and by all accounts is both well paid and popular—and chants “God Damn America.” Recently the father of the multimillionaire celebrity tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, Richard Williams, pronounced, “Well, I’m black and I’m prejudiced, very prejudiced…The white man hated me all my life and I hate him…I’m not even an American, it just so happens that I was born in America.” Is there a connection between success and furor at the United States? There are many ways to explain these baffling announcements, and those like them in the African-American community, sometimes offered up from the likes of a Harry Belafonte to prominent rap stars: (1) are these sentiments any different from those of a wealthy Michael Moore, Sean Penn, or Tim Robbins? (2) Does one’s racial fides become suspect the more wealthy and successful one becomes—and thus requires periodic proof of authenticity in the mode of easy anti-Americanism? (3) Does the more a Michelle Obama or Richard Williams or Jeremiah Wright succeed in America, the more one’s aspirations for even greater success accelerate at a geometric rather than arithmetic rate, creating expectations that can never be met—and hence scapegoating to explain the frustration? More Conversations on Race? I think that it is the last thing we need now in this country. Sadly, I don’t believe Sen. Obama or any other politician has either the wisdom or courage to resolve all of these competing hatreds and the particular contexts that their perpetrators always evoke in self-serving fashion. And it would perhaps be better that they did not even try. Obama, after all, skipped unpleasant themes that are essential to any discourse on race. First, the United States is not a white/black dichotomy anymore. Millions like Obama himself are biracial. There are as many Asian and Hispanic Americans together as African-Americans. And the result is that racism, being an entirely human phenomenon, is now often the property of a variety of races, who form baffling coalitions that cannot be reduced by Wright to simple white/black formulas. More important, we are in the fifth decade since Civil Rights legislation. The problem of African-American parity cannot any longer be explained entirely by white racism. Inordinate illegitimacy, drug use, incarceration, high-school drop-out rates, and crime in the African-American community are part of any conversation of race—and of concern to millions of Americans who are not white and have their own extenuating private stories of poverty, bias, and ordeal. Instead we should simply insist on a universal code of public decency and kindness. Americans should not voice racist sentiments in the public domain, or by our purse and attendance empower those who do. And if we are found wanting in that regard, we will be judged so by absolute standards that are unchanging. And they will not provide exemption by citing the bad that others do, or the good that we think we’ve done in the past, or the extenuating contexts in which our hatred was voiced. By that measure Sen. Obama’s failure to resign from his church and disassociate from the Rev. Wright and his own inspirational speech to allay racial tensions, caused more problems than they solved. Such a judgment may seem harsh. Yet it is not mine, but instead can be seen among the people themselves of all races. They remain appalled by Rev. Wright and Obama’s tepid reaction to him—to the point of abandoning a candidate whose eloquence, astuteness, and likeability are otherwise unrivaled in modern political history. I was suprised that almost no one has commented on Wright’s slurs against Justice Thomas (“Clarence Colon” ) and Secretary Rice (Con-damn-nesia”). Neither Obama nor any prominent African-American voiced outrage. Why? The two most powerful African-Amerians in public service are an apparent embarrassment to their own communities, due to their ties to conservatives. In other words, in the Ward Churchillian mode, one is not necessarily as much African-American by race as by ideology;thus a half-white Obama of African heritage, who experienced far less prejudice than the older, darker, and African-American Thomas, is the more authentic African-American because of his leftist Chicago politics and his patronage of the fiery Wright This has real repercussions for future racial relations. Since the liberal left has been able to dictate to the African-American population that a particular leftwing philosophy is essential to one’s genuine (as opposed to false) identity. What is Next? I think the contentious Democratic race continues to the end, Clinton winning the majority of the remaining states, establishing momentum, claiming she’s won most of the plebiscites (rather than caucuses), and the most important states—and losing the nomination. Then with the renewed Obamomania breaking back out over the summer, at least 25% of Democratic voters will defect to McCain. The ensuing controversy and drama of the election will be the degree to which McCain attempts or does not attempt to distance himself from very effective Wright/Obama infomercials aired by anti-Obama coalitions. And given that Wright is a megalomaniac, who like a moth to a flame, always seeks the light, expect him to sound off once or twice before November, either voicing more hatred of whites and the United States or trying to hint that he and Obama are closer than we think. A Forgotten Artifact… of the Wright mess have been the continued progress in Iraq, the dissolution of the anti-war movement, and the radical shift in Democratic rhetoric from “we’ve lost” and “the surge failed” to even victory was not worth the aggegrate costs. Comments (22)ic :Paul :Basically, if the Superdelegates want to win the election in November, they will cast themselves for Hillary. If they are delusional, they will go for Obama. In a sense, the Superdelegates in the Democratic Party will be deciding who the next President of the United States is (between Hillary or McCain.) That is basically where we are at.... Cobb :It is apparent from all I can see that 'fighting racism' requires nothing more than the disabuse of hate speech, and that racism itself is no more capable of establishing any agenda or power in America than any whacko on a soapbox can muster. The moral error thus is not to *be* a racist but to appear as one in public. If we could be rid of all the evils of the world with paragraph length denouncements and disassociations, then we would have no need for laws or armies; social shunning would be sufficient. With Obama's rhetoric as the entree for a discussion of the dysfunctions that blight many African American lives you have marked yourself alien to a discussion that continues. I could imagine your chagrin if you found yourself speaking about the challenges of immigration to an audience interested only through the prism of hot racial rhetoric. Perhaps then you can understand mine. OsoGrizzly :OMG the Democratic party is a pathetic mess. I have trouble believing anyone can be proud of the Democrat identity politics and their continued exploitation of the ignorant. Jeremy :Well said again Dr. Hanson. I just want to know is there a date when anyone born black in this country after that date can no longer use history as an excuse if they fail. They are ineligible for affirmative action, there is no more Black Entertainment Channel or Miss Black America, and Rev Al Sharpton cant shout off to get money for black people soley because of their race because something happened to them or they were insulted. When is this date? At some point blacks have to be ineligble for blaming white people for anything that happens to them. Slavery sucked. Segregation sucked. That stuff was a long time ago. White Liberal America is so afraid of being racist that they bow down to them and laugh when they make racist comments yet want people fired and crucified if they do it and happen to be white. These blacks who say they hate our country to incite racial divide are the same ones making millions taking advantage of the laws that give advantages to minorities. I dont see skin color in people. I just see people. Yet this black behvior makes me hate them. What blacks want to do is have people see them because of their color so they can get pity and free stuff and justify their violent and ignorant behavior towards others. Yet they dont care about their own people because their families are broken, they expect government to raise their kids, and its everyone elses fault that they fail. Its never about their own laziness. The numbers speak for themselves about blacks failings. Its just a shame that their leadership who has the intelligence and ability to unite and educate, just preaches hate and blame. A.W. Murphy, MSgt,USAF (Ret) :African-American’s who do speak out about the blight that has become their dominate sub-culture, comedian Bill Cosby comes to mind, are shunned or simply dismissed as “Uncle Tom’s.” Conservative blacks aren’t considered “genuine” role-models since they have largely rejected the victim mythology. People like Wright and his enablers (Obama) continue to encourage many within the black community to beat the drum of racial inequality and scream prejudice at the merest slight. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and a host of other celebrity racial entrepreneurs make a living perpetuating the myth that America is a hateful and dreary place for anyone who isn’t white. For its part the dutiful MSM simply embellishes the party line that America is as terrible as the Rev. Wright claims and hides the fact that his fortune and so many others depend on keeping that particular stereotype alive. When there is nothing left either politically or financially to gain from prejudice then and only then will the race hustlers finally lose. Until then Wright, Sharpton, Jackson and others will polish their street “creed” by creating preposterous myths of evil and denouncing whitey as the cause of their strife while simultaneously claiming to be healers. What rubbish. richard everett :Well, I suppose it could come to this if things continue; three options-- James :Great observation about Clarence Thomas. ET :Remember Bill Clinton's call for a "National dialogue on race"? This promise was as insincere as it was ineffective; I don't recall a single follow-up to that dramatic announcement. Apparently, it was enough to simply announce the need for such a discussion - with the implicit promise that actually executing this idea would be the responsibility of others - and then to quietly abandon the issue altogether. Now we are treated to Barack Obama, lamely making the exact same proclamation, in the hope that it will shift the spotlight away from his increasingly uncomfortable proximity to "Reverend" Wright. As for Iraq, last night's news found the perfect angle, as we have apparently just crossed a new thousands-threshold of American dead (four), which gave the media the exact talking point it was looking for, rather, of course, than focusing on *any* of the war's successes. Greg Turner :Once again, Professor Hanson, your thoughts are on the mark. As you stated, “…we are in the fifth decade since Civil Rights legislation.” I find it interesting that in a comparable or shorter time frame Japan and America became close allies. Germany and America became close allies. And all of this on the heels of some of the most horrific cultural, political and ideological conflicts our planet has ever seen. Right-minded thinking has prevailed and indeed continues to flourish regarding these tragedies. Yet, many power hungry black leaders choose to wallow in hatred and blame. They perpetuate the very racism they rail against. Barack Obama has hemmed himself in so closely with the mindset of hatred and bigotry (i.e. Rev. Wright) he was FORCED to deliver a pathetic speech on race relations that served no interest other than his own. I believe Barack Obama has opened “Pandora’s box” and right-minded people are insulted at the very root of their intelligence. No amount of carefully crafted and eloquently delivered rhetoric can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Dave Begley -Omaha :A brief story about Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas. He was in Omaha in Sept. or Oct. of 2007 and gave a speech at the Hilton Hotel in connection with his book. He took written questions (that was the prudent thing to do) from the audience. But what *really* impressed me was that he stayed and signed about 1,000 books after his talk. While he was doing this, a member of the Hilton staff brought him some towels to wipe his brow. He had been under some hot lights for a long time. He looked this person directly in the eye and thanked them for the towels. I noticed this as I was about ten feet away. He shook everyone's hand. He talked about "your" constitution. What an impressive man. Of course, I had read his book. I learned - for the first time - he had been Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit honor society) at the College of the Holy Cross. That honor is *always* earned. The slander that he wasn't qualified to serve on the Supreme Court is even more disgraceful than it was when he was nominated. Sen. Harry Reid should be ashamed of himself for recently complaining about the quality of Justice Thomas' written decisions. He probably hasn't even read them. David K. :For the collector of ironies, this primary campaign (and surely the presidential to follow) is rich and teeming. Dr. Hanson, thanks for plucking and distilling some of the most full bodied and multi-layered. We're witnessing memorable spectacle, amusing and imbittering all at the same time.
cfbleachers :I have read and reread the words of Sen. Obama and I have studied them intently, because I want to grasp their full meaning. I truly wish to understand the sentiment he wishes to convey of racial healing, of where he separates from the ugly and despicable rants of Farrakhan and the race-baiting proponents of that particular wing of the African-American experience. In fact, other than putting a Christian mask on it, how do the pronouncements, writings, sermons, seminars and speeches of Rev. Wright (and his new replacement pastor) differ in SUBSTANCE from Farrakhan himself? Sen. Obama says he believes that the conversation must be joined, now...and out loud. So be it. Let's have the conversation.
Really? Did Archie have a webpage with honoring Hamason the Pastor's Page in which terrorism is exalted as legitimate resistance? And comparing the Hamas official charter...the one that calls for NEVER negotiating peace and for the extermination of all Jewish people...with our Declaration of Independence? Again, how is this "theo-political" group you have WILLINGLY associated yourself with for the past 20 years...different from Farrakhan's worldview? It seems to me, it is simply the Malcolm X/Farrakhan package, simply shrink wrapped with a frilly Christian bow on it. For those "church people" who wouldn't convert...they brought Mohammed to the Mountain. The Black Liberation Theology channels Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan, exalts them, lionizes them. Please explain the differences and why we should be comfortable with the similarities. "Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms,.... Senator, you are half white. The Reverend blames white people for starting the AIDS virus to kill blacks, he blames white people for the "underlying causes" for 9/11, his entire life is based around "liberating" blacks from white oppression. He has an incredibly strong anti-Jewish, anti-Israely sentiment. So does his replacement pastor, Rev. Otis Moss. Both pastors have strong pro-Islam sympathies and are strongly "anti-Zionist". Are you suggesting, that for 20 years you have never been around when these issues were discussed? It comes as a complete shock to you that these men harbor strong divisive and hateful sentiments? .... or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect."
This is not some "crazy uncle" with whom you are forced to spend uncomfortable holidays, this is the man you willingly chose to guide you spiritually. A man of hate, a blamemeister, a corrosive, divisive, flame-thrower. And, as long as you weren't the target, you were perfectly comfortable with that venom, that hate. It galvanized your political base. Now, as your base needs to expand, and only now...you walk the tightrope. Denounce the words, but excuse the sentiments? Embrace the sentiments, and parse the words? How is that not political expedience?
How do we read this? Can you disown Farrakhan without disowning the black community? Can I disown David Duke...without disowning the white community? If I disown white hatred and venom and you disown black hatred and venom...can't we start our own community? Isn't that where healing really begins? If you choose to cling to that hatred and venom, excuse it, alibi for it, search for its "root causes"...aren't you feeding it? Please pardon me, Senator...but having one's cake and eating it too has no color scheme. It's simply political expediency.
crossdotcurve :Quote of the day: In year 6, in remembrance of the 4000, March 16th 2003: MR. RUSSERT: If your analysis is not correct, and we’re not treated as liberators, but as conquerors, and the Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties? VICE PRES. CHENEY: Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators. MR. RUSSERT: The army’s top general said that we would have to have several hundred thousand troops there for several years in order to maintain stability. VICE PRES. CHENEY: I disagree. The war has been an utter failure. ic :Does Success Breed Anger? May be a lack of self-esteem? These successful blacks still look to whites' confirmation of their success. They still want to be praised by whites, at the same time resent their need for praises, like little children who crave their parents' approvals and resent their parents' authority. Thus, Rendell's endorsement of Hillary is "support", Kennedy's endorsement of Obama feels like "white patronage". It takes much more than a civil war, civil rights marches, and affirmative actions to exterminate the demons lurking deep in their hearts. R. Richard Schweitzer :There is still the strong possibility that the "Second Ballot" will proceed and be followed by the nomination of Al Gore, who if he carries could well name Obama as his choice of VP. At this stage, that is the only viable candidacy the Democrats could put up. Trudy B. Taylor :a determining number of the democrat uber-delegates are waiting... for a sign. just what sign is yet to be determined. most think the needed votes will coaleasce sometime around early june, when the whole, pesky lot of primaries have more or less run their course. if there is no close call on the popular vote , then the uber-delegates can play like they are going along with the hoi polloi and tap obama. if hillary's self-described profile of being able to win the populous blue states hangs in there thru pennsylvania and , perhaps even more importantly, north carolina, then katy-bar-the-door, this tussle will turn into a tornado. interesting aside...will we ever know just what deals were made by which uber-delegates for their votes if a democrat president is ensconced on the throne, er...wins the oval office? Jim Rockford :I will note two things. The Rev. Wright (aka Rev. God Damn America as I'm sure he will be known to most forever after) grew up comfortable and middle class and in a mixed neighborhood. He himself is very light skinned. Perhaps his militancy and "hate Whitey" rhetoric is an attempt to establish "street cred" in a bad real life parody of the Chris Rock comedy "CB4" (in which middle class Black musicians try to pass themselves off as hard-core street rappers from "Cell Block 4"). Secondly, Dr. King saw the danger of race-based judgments since they go both ways. Malaysia has as part of it's constitution requirements for **minority** businesses to employ the majority population. Certain posts are by law reserved for Malays over other ethnic groups. There is no "word from God" or lightning bolt that would prevent the majority white population from fashioning quotas, requirements, set-asides for it's own benefits. If the government may discriminate in favor of a minority group, elections and pressures can make even the Supreme Court (which follows election returns) require set-asides for the majority. Perhaps certain posts in government will "belong" to whites, the way they "belong" to Malays in Malaysia. The political danger of pushing anti-white sentiment too far is not a race war of Montana Militiamen. It's the adoption of pressures to "mend don't end" Affirmative Action so that WHITES benefit too ... with set asides for them in all walks of life: business, education, government etc. For the more thoughtful political panderers, Affirmative Action aimed at benefiting Whites is the perfect "spoils system" creating a vast obligated class in one massive political machine. So there will be a great appetite for it among the more dangerous and ambitious people in politics. Affirmative Action is like any other weapon. It can always be turned against it's user. Obama has with his actions and speech legitimized this action. A sorry legacy. vb :I don't think we need a national dialogue on race. Perhaps we could use more personal contact, and perhaps that could start by giving up victim-based dorms and organizations in our colleges. If college is supposed to be the experience that opens minds to a wider world, why encourage institutions that seek to cut off personal experience. Of course there is a risk that one may be betrayed or have one's heart broken. Life is full of risks. Are college students too wimpy to face them? Ian F :I agree wholeheartedly with your column. I have a personal story I am sure you can relate to, that I would love to hear you comment on if possible: I was watching Shelby Steel (a conservative black author)on CSPAN talk about his latest book on Obama with a very Liberal Obama fanatical friend of mine. After only 5 or 10 min he stated that he is no longer interested in politics or the election and is sick of it all. The next time I saw him he couldn't talk about anything but politics. A similar thing happened when I asked two Obama fanatics about Rev Wright and if they agreed with what he had said, their reply was that they are both sick of the election, they don't agree with Rev Wright and compare him to John Hagee. My conclusion is when liberals are put on the spot with facts and clear questions they are dismissed as something they aren't even interested in talking about... a Duoist :It is such a sad thing, the gap between what Senator Obama's speech could have said and what it actually did say. It's even sadder that so many Americans don't understand the heart-felt disappointment of their fellow citizens in the speech. If Senator Obama wins the Democratic nomination, his speech will play out in secret ballots on Election Day. JA Lineberry :I'm beginning to worry that, while the Surge has been a rousing success in fighting Al Quaeda, the ending of the Iraqi militia ceasefire will soon test the gains we have made. I remain somewhat optimistic that the Iraqi army can decisively defeat these militias, but I have my doubts. I also fear the political problems facing the Iraqi parliament once Al-Sadr and the like withdraw their support from Maliki's government. There's so much uncertainty ahead, but I'm hoping for the best. Comments have been archived for this page. |
Pajamas MediaLive from DNC: Bill Get His Digs In PJM Political 8/27/08: Michelle Malkin & Co. Survive Denver–Plus A PJTV Preview! Pajamas TV Launches Live from DNC: Hillary the Angry Populist, Part II (Day 3) Live from DNC: Bill Keeps It Short (Day 3) Live from DNC: It’s Zombietime! Big Labor Safeguards Its Big Stake in Obama BBC’s Terrorists in Need
Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers
Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers
RSS FeedsADVERTISEMENT
|
digg this
del.icio.us
So voting for Obama because he is black is not racist, not voting for Obama because he is an ultra-liberal who has not even served one full term in the Senate, who has no discernable legislative achievements or experience is racist.
I am glad we have secret ballots.
Mar 24, 2008 01:32 AM