The conventional position taken in academic discourse is that war can only be excused in extreme cases usually defined by one party’s assertion of higher motive. If repetition of a lie confers truth, then the justification for modern wars is unassailable.
These paragraphs, now at the beginning of the chapter, were inspired by a drive to the Hosios Loukas Monastery in Central Greece
Our noble ancestors, we should always bear in mind, were never quite civilized people. They were descended from Goths and Saxons, Franks, Normans and Lombard. To the extent they were civilized, it was the result of the Christian Church and the study of the classics.
Besides, our ancestors, we should always bear in mind, were not really civilized people. They were descended from Goths and Saxons, Franks, Normans and Lombard. To the extent they were civilized, it was the result of the Christian Church and the study of the classics.
This was a talk written for a Summer School in 2003 but perhaps not delivered. Lack of access to my old records prevent me from finding out.
The bigger news is voters will decide Proposition 50 on Nov. 4. Given it affects the whole country, shouldn’t this be a national referendum?
A slightly revised version of a talk given in 2007 to the Association of Professional Educators of Louisiana, a sane teachers’ union founded by Roger Busbice, who used to invite his friends, Clyde Wilson, Don Livingston, Charles Eliott and myself to give talks on historical topics.
In a few days, we shall be publishing a splendid essay on Putin and the Ukraine War, written by the celebrated novelist and historian Piers Paul Read. As delighted as we are with the the opportunity, it is a cause for sad reflection that a writer of such merit–and reputation–should be publishing an original essay on a website with limited circulation. We shall be making it free to the public in hopes that it will receive the attention it deserves
I promised to serialize parts or all of the last chapter of the sequel to The Reign of Love. This chapter deals with the ethics of war. The photograph was taken about two weeks ago in Billings Park, Superior, Wisconsin, a half mile from where I lived as a child.
Not long after the conclusion of Operation Desert Storm, I engaged in a training mission that placed me onboard a US Navy ship as an Army Special Forces (SF) liaison to the US Marines. SF teams were inserted into an area of operation ahead of a Marine landing force where they engaged in reconnaissance.
