[Bill,
July 25, 2007]
Didn't believe any of that stuff
Rod Dreher states what he's learned in the past five years as a result of the Iraq War:
I was not absolutely sure the war was the right thing to do: I completely misunderstood what we were attempting to do. It never occurred to me that we would NOT go into Syria and Iran -- I thought Iraq was the beginning of a much larger war involving most of the nations between Syria and Pakistan and would involve several million U.S. troops. I was shocked when Bush appointed a governor in Iraq.
Still, I hope for the best in Iraq. It still might work. Iran might collapse, and time might be the thing we need here. If not, then we've screwed the pooch times 1,000 here.
The key word is implicit. I figured people were trying to do the best they can, and still figure that. Rod Dreher has been having a lot of these sorts of moments lately. I suspect Rod had far too much trust beforehand.
I do. The variety of viewpoints within the GOP (and it varies considerably) includes all the reasonable viewpoints within the Democratic Party, within a considerably more responsible tone. The Dems don't add anything to the debate on foreign policy, and they subtract much and make it far more difficult for our troops to win. BTW, they did this at the end of the Cold War as well.
If you ever believed that, you weren't the brightest bulb in the bunch. You can't force people to change -- you can force them to leave you alone.
Glad you just joined the club. You're only a few hundred years behind the ball on this one. It's actually much much worse than you think -- civilization itself exists in the minds of the people. You change that thinking, you change the actions, and the whole thing falls into despotism, triviality or anarchy. And even worse, it's often the actions of the elite that matter most.
That's why we didn't rebuild the Twin Towers. What would have been an inspirational act of rebuilding instead became a politicized, half-ass compromise. So we get the Fear Tower instead -- a 68-story building on a 200 foot concrete pedestal, thinner than one Twin Tower, though arguable taller.
Do you know, Rod, that in many countries, people don't pay the required taxes. That in turn causes elites to raise taxes so high (like 100%) that tax compliance is impossible -- it forces people to cheat? That political/economic corruption is so endemic that you can't create a business under the rules? And these are often in brutal dictatorships?
Our economic system is based on trust ... that you will deliver quality products on time based on my credit. That I can drive down the street without a bandit trying to rob me. That the police will, for the most part, try to administer the law and not act out of personal vendetta or corruption -- and that if that latter happens, it will be an exception or a problem later to be fixed.
That's one reason I'm in favor of the death penalty for securities fraud and identity theft. I'm not kidding. They're tinkering with the fundamental trust mechanism of our economy.
This trust is an inheritance. It is the result of thousands of years of collective action by certain groups. It (probably) won't die overnight. But it can be destroyed. It's already been damaged. In many places in the world, they don't have this level of trust, and thus people need to act through family, tribal and political ties we all as bribery.
FWIW.
1. Having been absolutely certain that the war was the right thing to have done, and that we would prevail easily, I am no longer confident that I can discern when emotion is affecting my judgment unduly.
I was not absolutely sure the war was the right thing to do: I completely misunderstood what we were attempting to do. It never occurred to me that we would NOT go into Syria and Iran -- I thought Iraq was the beginning of a much larger war involving most of the nations between Syria and Pakistan and would involve several million U.S. troops. I was shocked when Bush appointed a governor in Iraq.
Still, I hope for the best in Iraq. It still might work. Iran might collapse, and time might be the thing we need here. If not, then we've screwed the pooch times 1,000 here.
2. I no longer implicitly trust governmental institutions, including the military -- neither in their honesty nor their competence.
The key word is implicit. I figured people were trying to do the best they can, and still figure that. Rod Dreher has been having a lot of these sorts of moments lately. I suspect Rod had far too much trust beforehand.
3. I no longer believe the Republican Party is superior in foreign policy judgment to the Democrats.
I do. The variety of viewpoints within the GOP (and it varies considerably) includes all the reasonable viewpoints within the Democratic Party, within a considerably more responsible tone. The Dems don't add anything to the debate on foreign policy, and they subtract much and make it far more difficult for our troops to win. BTW, they did this at the end of the Cold War as well.
4. I no longer have confidence in the ability of our military, or any military, to solve deep cultural and civilizational problems through force alone. I mean, I thought nothing could stand in the way of the strongest military fielded since the days of ancient Rome. No more.
If you ever believed that, you weren't the brightest bulb in the bunch. You can't force people to change -- you can force them to leave you alone.
5. I have a far greater appreciation for how rare and fragile liberal democracy is, and a corresponding revulsion at the American assumption that it's the natural state of mankind. Which is to say, the war has made me rethink my ideas about human nature, and I'm far more pessimistic now than I ever was.
Glad you just joined the club. You're only a few hundred years behind the ball on this one. It's actually much much worse than you think -- civilization itself exists in the minds of the people. You change that thinking, you change the actions, and the whole thing falls into despotism, triviality or anarchy. And even worse, it's often the actions of the elite that matter most.
That's why we didn't rebuild the Twin Towers. What would have been an inspirational act of rebuilding instead became a politicized, half-ass compromise. So we get the Fear Tower instead -- a 68-story building on a 200 foot concrete pedestal, thinner than one Twin Tower, though arguable taller.
Do you know, Rod, that in many countries, people don't pay the required taxes. That in turn causes elites to raise taxes so high (like 100%) that tax compliance is impossible -- it forces people to cheat? That political/economic corruption is so endemic that you can't create a business under the rules? And these are often in brutal dictatorships?
Our economic system is based on trust ... that you will deliver quality products on time based on my credit. That I can drive down the street without a bandit trying to rob me. That the police will, for the most part, try to administer the law and not act out of personal vendetta or corruption -- and that if that latter happens, it will be an exception or a problem later to be fixed.
That's one reason I'm in favor of the death penalty for securities fraud and identity theft. I'm not kidding. They're tinkering with the fundamental trust mechanism of our economy.
This trust is an inheritance. It is the result of thousands of years of collective action by certain groups. It (probably) won't die overnight. But it can be destroyed. It's already been damaged. In many places in the world, they don't have this level of trust, and thus people need to act through family, tribal and political ties we all as bribery.
FWIW.