John Chuckman
COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY DANIEL LARISON IN RUSSIA INSIDER
“Americans Can Thank Their Elites' Arrogant Belief That They 'Won the Cold War' for Twenty Years of Actual Wars”
https://russia-insider.com/en/americans-can-thank-their-elites-arrogant-belief-they-won-cold-war-twenty-years-actual-wars/ri27870
Good piece.
Triumphalism is always extremely dangerous because it is one of those high emotional states that blinds people to careful thinking.
And we can never have enough of that, careful thinking.
I always liked George Kennan despite his being rather incorrectly identified by many as a kind of Cold Warrior.
He was a clear writer and a sound thinker.
America's State Department and other parts of government today do not seem to have such people.
Or, if they do, the people all stay with their heads down while America busies itself with bombing and threats and coups and bombast.
In the end, I think the real truth governing a place like America is that of Lord Acton on the nature of power.
America has been close to absolute power since WWII.
So, I think we should expect little else but the near absolute corruption we see in Washington.
It is a condition which trumps all other human impulses, including those of good sense, fairness, and just decency.
