Bradley in DC
05-25-2008, 10:20 AM
http://www.techcentralstation.com/
There's an old military aphorism that reminds us that "no military plan survives contact with the enemy." It can equally be said that no intellectual fad survives contact with reality. Such appeared to be the verdict rendered on one of the late 1990s silliest intellectual fads, "national greatness conservatism" as it collided with the ugly realities of policing Iraq.
Yet John McCain's ascendancy in the Republican primaries signals the idea's rebirth. Indeed, appreciating "national greatness," its impact on America's foreign policy, and McCain's affinity for it may help shed some light on what his prospective presidency could offer.
National greatness doesn't actually refer to the greatness of America or of Americans (a subject not in dispute). Rather it is a set of beliefs about how America is to achieve, and retain, greatness as defined by the movement's authors. . .
There's an old military aphorism that reminds us that "no military plan survives contact with the enemy." It can equally be said that no intellectual fad survives contact with reality. Such appeared to be the verdict rendered on one of the late 1990s silliest intellectual fads, "national greatness conservatism" as it collided with the ugly realities of policing Iraq.
Yet John McCain's ascendancy in the Republican primaries signals the idea's rebirth. Indeed, appreciating "national greatness," its impact on America's foreign policy, and McCain's affinity for it may help shed some light on what his prospective presidency could offer.
National greatness doesn't actually refer to the greatness of America or of Americans (a subject not in dispute). Rather it is a set of beliefs about how America is to achieve, and retain, greatness as defined by the movement's authors. . .