Thank you for bringing to the forefront these critically important messages, chilling as they are. The angel of the bottomless pit indeed. As a reader in the UK I am conscious that similar ideologies underpinned the cruel and rapacious Empire that Britain headed up. Never satisfied.
Right now Britain is seemingly content to be in the Big Bully's gang, taunters in chief, keen for crumbs off the plate. Our society is being weakened, our public services dismantled, institutions hollowed out, traditions scorned and orthodoxy mocked.
Mark, you ask <<What is a rival? How do we define and identify rivalry and/or hostility?>>. By whatever arrogant criteria will serve the purpose.
Dissent, sullen or open, is not tolerated. Debate is stifled. The Flu D'Etat propaganda onslaught and successive waves of the Cathedral of Woke's wanton shamelessness rub our noses in it. Internal dissidents are exposed and attempts are made to crush them, us. What has been accepted as 'natural' for centuries is now dissent… hostility… rivalry. Hell is empty because the devils are all here.
I just finished listening to The Duran Episode 10. Mercouris finished by stating that the West may be approaching a pre-revolutionary state, in that problems and pressures are increasing but the political class *as a whole* is offering no solutions that the population as a whole can't see through.
Well, this post certainly helps explain the current mess, but it’s forcing me to totally re-examine what I thought I knew about my country. I don’t ever remember any of my college professors covering this as a driving force of American foreign policy. Certainly brings another whole dimension to Eisenhower’s warnings about the MIC, it appears that he read the fine print. Don’t know about anyone else, but kinda feel like I’ve been played. Very disturbing and more than a little disheartening.
Mr. Wauck, in light of what you’ve written, what do you make of 9/11? The most common explanations I hear are a) foreigners, b) U.S. government, or c) foreigners as proxy for the U.S. government. In my mind, 9/11 gave cover for incursions where we were not wanted. If you have a moment, I would welcome your thoughts.
I have no answer. Of course I was still working at that time and watched the twin towers fall on TV in the office. You have to realize that at that time there was no Patriot Act--the Patriot Act was a game changer, including with regard to FISA use. At the time of 9/11 the FBI institutionally was pretty cautious about anti-terror activities--that caution was based, in my experience, on First Amendment concerns and a fear of overstepping legal protections. I think the record shows that agents did, in fact, uncover a lot of suspicious activity but taking the steps that would have prevented 9/11 was legally difficult at the time. That was particularly evident in the Minnesota case. Agents pushed hard for search warrants and FISAs on suspects but were denied by the legal people at HQ. That all changed with the Patriot Act (and, by all accounts, legal lines were trampled, as well). The PA put anti-terror investigations on steroids, but was later used to target dissent by Americans. That's my limited perspective.
Re the government being involved, the difficulty I have with that is the panicked reaction of Dubya. If there was government involvement he was clearly not in on it. OTOH, at this point I can't rule out some Deep State involvement, but it could be as simple as the IC thinking they had cooperating sources when those sources were working for the other side. Saudi gov.? We can't assume it's monolithic.
So, it's a can of worms and I don't have the knowledge to offer a solution.
Whatever claim America could have to world leadership, it depended on the U.S. being a force for good, morally benevolent. If the past decade has taught us anything it’s that our leaders are not even a force for good even within America let alone the world.
The Founders wanted separation of powers to check factions within gov’t. Surely they would hate American hegemony for the same reason.
I think what a lot of us, myself included, have learned from the past decade or two is that the ruling class is, and has been for a long time, fundamentally at war with normal Americans who want to live in a normal country. It wasn't just mistaken or misguided policy. That was some of it, but there's more to it than that.
We had a situation where an Army was required. Russia and China were both expansionist, and our successful intervention in Korea, much as I regret being called into the Army at the time, did save South Korea. The Cold War was for real. No, the Rubicon is when our establishment politicians decided to destroy representative democracy and not respect the will of the voters.
I suppose so. We had to become an Empire because the USSR wanted to become one. Reminds me of the time I quoted to Mark Halperin the famous George Washington lines about not getting entangled in European alliances - he said, "Washington didn't live in a time of nuclear weapons." Power corrupts, we became powerful, and so our corruption was I suppose inevitable.
"We had to become an Empire because the USSR wanted to become one."
This is a complex topic. The USSR of 1945 was not the same as the Comintern of the 1920s to early 30s. Nor did the USSR that emerged from WW2 continue unchanged until 1989. "The USSR wanted to become and empire" is far too simplistic.
True. Russia is a complex subject. The only thing I feel certain of is the average American has no desire for empire, and would wish we had a government that would address our present problems. Quoting the first few sentences from an article in Zerohedge today entitled "On The Importance Of Deflation And Depressions":
"Much of legislative activity is grossly overcomplicated. This is because honest governance is missing from the process.
The simple and honest way to put headspace between the debt and the debt ceiling is to run a budget surplus and use the excess to pay down the debt. The politics of the moment make this impossible."
We will get our Deflation and Depression. Then maybe we can return to honest governance.
America is so exceptional, so necessary, so (self) important, that she acts like every other empire has since the dawn of history. With one minor exception, America does not admit to being an empire!
Isolationism really means: first, mind your own business. Other great powers have their own spheres of influence, and national interests, the same as America. A good neighbor minds his own business, assist others who are in need, only when asked.
America the meddlesome interloper is not going to be tolerated for very much longer. One day in the not so distant future, NATO will implode, USAID and the like will be no more, the UN will be inconsequential, and the US military and intel agencies will shrink dramatically, if I'm around then, I'll be pleased.
DH comment below spurred a thought. Was Trump, through a business mindset, approaching things in such a way that would build a ‘Commercial Republic’ upon the ashes of the fantasy of empire? Is Chi building a Commercial Communist Dictatorship? Has he already?
Mark, thanks for the great column, which I believe is one of your most important. Lately, I posted a comment regarding Neocons and how many people understand the implications of what they are doing even though many may not understand why ideologically. This column is the "why" and I greatly appreciate you posting it.
My grandfather (born in 1889) was a staunch foe of FDR because of not only his economic policies but more importantly because he ran for President in 1940 on keeping us out of the war (which turned out to be a blatantly lie):
"Roosevelt, acutely aware of strong isolationist and non-interventionist sentiment, promised there would be no involvement in foreign wars if he were re-elected."
From Wilson on down, the idea that the U.S. should have hegemony over the world (or responsibility for it) has been a poison that our Founding Fathers would have recoiled at and never have engaged in.
I post this comment just to show that the "Old Right" was a thing back in the '30s and was personified in my grandfather. It may help people to understand the appeal of a Pat Buchanan and to some extent a Donald Trump. I think a lot of us posters here are the progeny of that movement.
My father (born in 1896) was a staunch foe of FDR. He was an evil man, his New Deal brought on the Great Depression, he did nothing to prevent the war, his buddies helped the Nazi war effort, but unlike our guv'mint he was a clever politician. Older than most of you, I assume, I was cognizant of what was going on during the 40s and 50s, and the average American was far from evil at the time. We were against totalitarianism, and our government purported to be the same. The Marshall plan was an act of charity. Now the style is to bash America and its history, whether from the Right or the Left. These last few years were different. Unmitigated evil on the part of our Ruling Class, and even worse, a complete destruction of the Rule of Law and our Constitution. We citizens have lost trust, as habeaus corpus, honest elections and a government acting in the interest of its citizens no longer exist. Will we ever again see a government of the people, by the people and for the people?
Perle, Sir, I always appreciate - and highly respect - your postings and insights. Perhaps you are a bit older than most of us who have been drawn to Mark's sharing, however your awareness of history is not lost on me in the least.
I'll only add, perhaps simply join your posting a human-nature factoid: Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Tho' many good and honorable men have attempted to keep our country's leadings within our Constitutional foundation, General Eisenhower's parting speech rings so prescient and of such an important note - my simple-minded, boiled-down point drawn is 'Beware the Military Industrial Complex'. Hope your weekend has gone well and that your week upcoming is a pleasant one Perle! (WrH)
Charles Krauthammer first wrote about the US unipolar moment back around 1990. He warned that it was limited in time - it could disappear in a decade or endure for a generation. We got a generation.
It was never going to last forever and sound strategic planning should never have assumed it would. We should have prepared for what comes next. We didn’t.
I see, said the blind man. As a baby boomer, each day it's coming more & more into focus that most of my impressions of a democratic Amerca have been impacted and guided by a deep state, operating mostly invisibly, that arose from the ashes of WWII to what is now so obvious it can't be missed. The key original neocons and deep state architects were The Brothers-Allen (CIA) and John Foster (State) Dulles. (See great book on them for backup detail) The deep state neocon foreign policy is collapsing and leaving our great land weakened and threatened on the world stage, both economically and militarily.
Eisenhower saw it and tried to warn us & JFK paid dearly for trying to stop it. How interesting that JFK fired Allen Dulles for Bay of Pigs and he ended up as key member & de facto director of the Warren Commission. Watergate took out Nixon after he won 49 states & over 500 electoral votes. There have been endless military adventures with untold blood & treasure lost from Vietnam, to Iraq 1&2, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Syria and now Ukraine. Look what happened to Trump when he sniffed around the Ukraine money tree. The folks in Langley combined with the Bureau have proven more powerful than presidents and have the legislative branch totally under their control and operating as a puppy like Uniparty. There's a handful willing to stand up.
But we're awake, a combination of Trump's "bull in a china shop" first term and a propped up Biden fulfilling Obama's warning (Never underestimate Joe's ability to "eff" things up.) The signs of pushback are coming (Elon buying Twitter, "What Is A Woman with over 100 million views in two days, court challenges to Biden exec orders like student loans). The battle is being shaped, and it will be long, filled with defeats and challenges, with great courage & persistence needed for victory.
As another boomer (and we span a large number of years and viewpoints), this is a great statement of the truth regarding where we have been and where we are now, I have to say. For anyone who has lived through these years what you say SHOULD be evident with just a bit of thought. Now, many may not want to accept the truth or are so brainwashed as to not be able to accept it. That is our challenge as a country - we have to educate enough people regarding where things have gone wrong and convince them to make corrections to our path. It is an open question as to whether it is too late to do that. In any case, thank you for in part laying the groundwork for doing this.
There's a great scene concluding the 2019 Mike Cernovich documentary "Hoaxed". In short, imagine walking in a dark cave and gradually emerging into the light. As you proceed, more and more becomes visible. I believe that's the phase we're in, thanks to finally turning the tables on those using cancel culture to limit free speech. We're not out of the tunnel yet, but more and more light is shining. Remember many are still afraid & not ready to see the light.
Thanks Mark for all the work you're doing....this a wonderful site and I look forward to you r columns. This one should be pinned to the top! I amended my original comment with following: The key original neocons and deep state architects were The Brothers-Allen (CIA) and John Foster (State) Dulles. (See great book on them for backup detail) How interesting that JFK fired Allen Dulles for Bay of Pigs and he ended up as key member & de facto director of the Warren Commission.
It makes me want to express my gratitude to all of you! The Meaning In History community and especially Mark, our leader, for keeping us all informed (and sane) in an increasingly insane world.
I appreciate being more aware of what our country is really like (at least the slimy bunch at the top) while being disappointed that it isn't what we were led to believe that it was.
Mark, a most enlightening array of the political thought underpinning the current mad mad war against Russia and our many failed forays into sovereign states to serve the great bug-bear hegemon myth. Thank you for your tenacity, integrity and intellectual heft in bringing all this history to the fore! Even so, there remains with most of us a dull and sad awareness, if not plain disillusion in the growing gap between what our fathers and grandfathers ( not to exclude the mothers!) fought for and believed in circa the 1940’s - something I still grapple with and grieve over.
Disillusionment, yes, but also anger at the fraud that has been perpetrated on us. Realizing that your country has become the antithesis of what you thought it was, is hard to swallow. Our own patriotism was used against us.
I just re-read portions of Washington's farewell address. Those portions regarding foreign involvement. We should have heeded his warnings.
To cut to the chase: the US is losing its hegemony. Explains all their actions
Thank you for bringing to the forefront these critically important messages, chilling as they are. The angel of the bottomless pit indeed. As a reader in the UK I am conscious that similar ideologies underpinned the cruel and rapacious Empire that Britain headed up. Never satisfied.
Right now Britain is seemingly content to be in the Big Bully's gang, taunters in chief, keen for crumbs off the plate. Our society is being weakened, our public services dismantled, institutions hollowed out, traditions scorned and orthodoxy mocked.
Mark, you ask <<What is a rival? How do we define and identify rivalry and/or hostility?>>. By whatever arrogant criteria will serve the purpose.
Dissent, sullen or open, is not tolerated. Debate is stifled. The Flu D'Etat propaganda onslaught and successive waves of the Cathedral of Woke's wanton shamelessness rub our noses in it. Internal dissidents are exposed and attempts are made to crush them, us. What has been accepted as 'natural' for centuries is now dissent… hostility… rivalry. Hell is empty because the devils are all here.
I just finished listening to The Duran Episode 10. Mercouris finished by stating that the West may be approaching a pre-revolutionary state, in that problems and pressures are increasing but the political class *as a whole* is offering no solutions that the population as a whole can't see through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM2g-F4augg
Our "leaders" definitely have that Marie Antoinette/Tsar Nicholas feel of unreality and stupidity about them.
Well, this post certainly helps explain the current mess, but it’s forcing me to totally re-examine what I thought I knew about my country. I don’t ever remember any of my college professors covering this as a driving force of American foreign policy. Certainly brings another whole dimension to Eisenhower’s warnings about the MIC, it appears that he read the fine print. Don’t know about anyone else, but kinda feel like I’ve been played. Very disturbing and more than a little disheartening.
Mr. Wauck, in light of what you’ve written, what do you make of 9/11? The most common explanations I hear are a) foreigners, b) U.S. government, or c) foreigners as proxy for the U.S. government. In my mind, 9/11 gave cover for incursions where we were not wanted. If you have a moment, I would welcome your thoughts.
I have no answer. Of course I was still working at that time and watched the twin towers fall on TV in the office. You have to realize that at that time there was no Patriot Act--the Patriot Act was a game changer, including with regard to FISA use. At the time of 9/11 the FBI institutionally was pretty cautious about anti-terror activities--that caution was based, in my experience, on First Amendment concerns and a fear of overstepping legal protections. I think the record shows that agents did, in fact, uncover a lot of suspicious activity but taking the steps that would have prevented 9/11 was legally difficult at the time. That was particularly evident in the Minnesota case. Agents pushed hard for search warrants and FISAs on suspects but were denied by the legal people at HQ. That all changed with the Patriot Act (and, by all accounts, legal lines were trampled, as well). The PA put anti-terror investigations on steroids, but was later used to target dissent by Americans. That's my limited perspective.
Re the government being involved, the difficulty I have with that is the panicked reaction of Dubya. If there was government involvement he was clearly not in on it. OTOH, at this point I can't rule out some Deep State involvement, but it could be as simple as the IC thinking they had cooperating sources when those sources were working for the other side. Saudi gov.? We can't assume it's monolithic.
So, it's a can of worms and I don't have the knowledge to offer a solution.
I appreciate your thoughts, sir. It is a can of worms, and I have my doubts about the standard narrative. Gotta keep digging. Thank you for your time.
Whatever claim America could have to world leadership, it depended on the U.S. being a force for good, morally benevolent. If the past decade has taught us anything it’s that our leaders are not even a force for good even within America let alone the world.
The Founders wanted separation of powers to check factions within gov’t. Surely they would hate American hegemony for the same reason.
A force for good and also just a force in itself, meaning that if you go against her, expect a Marine Expeditionary Force on your local beach.
I think what a lot of us, myself included, have learned from the past decade or two is that the ruling class is, and has been for a long time, fundamentally at war with normal Americans who want to live in a normal country. It wasn't just mistaken or misguided policy. That was some of it, but there's more to it than that.
Probably the simple rubicon is when we kept our standing army after WW2, unlike all wars previous. There was the tell.
We had a situation where an Army was required. Russia and China were both expansionist, and our successful intervention in Korea, much as I regret being called into the Army at the time, did save South Korea. The Cold War was for real. No, the Rubicon is when our establishment politicians decided to destroy representative democracy and not respect the will of the voters.
I suppose so. We had to become an Empire because the USSR wanted to become one. Reminds me of the time I quoted to Mark Halperin the famous George Washington lines about not getting entangled in European alliances - he said, "Washington didn't live in a time of nuclear weapons." Power corrupts, we became powerful, and so our corruption was I suppose inevitable.
"We had to become an Empire because the USSR wanted to become one."
This is a complex topic. The USSR of 1945 was not the same as the Comintern of the 1920s to early 30s. Nor did the USSR that emerged from WW2 continue unchanged until 1989. "The USSR wanted to become and empire" is far too simplistic.
True. Russia is a complex subject. The only thing I feel certain of is the average American has no desire for empire, and would wish we had a government that would address our present problems. Quoting the first few sentences from an article in Zerohedge today entitled "On The Importance Of Deflation And Depressions":
"Much of legislative activity is grossly overcomplicated. This is because honest governance is missing from the process.
The simple and honest way to put headspace between the debt and the debt ceiling is to run a budget surplus and use the excess to pay down the debt. The politics of the moment make this impossible."
We will get our Deflation and Depression. Then maybe we can return to honest governance.
"The Financial Responsibility Act" Orwellian.
America The Exceptional
America is so exceptional, so necessary, so (self) important, that she acts like every other empire has since the dawn of history. With one minor exception, America does not admit to being an empire!
Isolationism really means: first, mind your own business. Other great powers have their own spheres of influence, and national interests, the same as America. A good neighbor minds his own business, assist others who are in need, only when asked.
America the meddlesome interloper is not going to be tolerated for very much longer. One day in the not so distant future, NATO will implode, USAID and the like will be no more, the UN will be inconsequential, and the US military and intel agencies will shrink dramatically, if I'm around then, I'll be pleased.
DH comment below spurred a thought. Was Trump, through a business mindset, approaching things in such a way that would build a ‘Commercial Republic’ upon the ashes of the fantasy of empire? Is Chi building a Commercial Communist Dictatorship? Has he already?
Mark, thanks for the great column, which I believe is one of your most important. Lately, I posted a comment regarding Neocons and how many people understand the implications of what they are doing even though many may not understand why ideologically. This column is the "why" and I greatly appreciate you posting it.
My grandfather (born in 1889) was a staunch foe of FDR because of not only his economic policies but more importantly because he ran for President in 1940 on keeping us out of the war (which turned out to be a blatantly lie):
"Roosevelt, acutely aware of strong isolationist and non-interventionist sentiment, promised there would be no involvement in foreign wars if he were re-elected."
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_United_States_presidential_election)
From Wilson on down, the idea that the U.S. should have hegemony over the world (or responsibility for it) has been a poison that our Founding Fathers would have recoiled at and never have engaged in.
I post this comment just to show that the "Old Right" was a thing back in the '30s and was personified in my grandfather. It may help people to understand the appeal of a Pat Buchanan and to some extent a Donald Trump. I think a lot of us posters here are the progeny of that movement.
My father (born in 1896) was a staunch foe of FDR. He was an evil man, his New Deal brought on the Great Depression, he did nothing to prevent the war, his buddies helped the Nazi war effort, but unlike our guv'mint he was a clever politician. Older than most of you, I assume, I was cognizant of what was going on during the 40s and 50s, and the average American was far from evil at the time. We were against totalitarianism, and our government purported to be the same. The Marshall plan was an act of charity. Now the style is to bash America and its history, whether from the Right or the Left. These last few years were different. Unmitigated evil on the part of our Ruling Class, and even worse, a complete destruction of the Rule of Law and our Constitution. We citizens have lost trust, as habeaus corpus, honest elections and a government acting in the interest of its citizens no longer exist. Will we ever again see a government of the people, by the people and for the people?
Perle, Sir, I always appreciate - and highly respect - your postings and insights. Perhaps you are a bit older than most of us who have been drawn to Mark's sharing, however your awareness of history is not lost on me in the least.
I'll only add, perhaps simply join your posting a human-nature factoid: Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Tho' many good and honorable men have attempted to keep our country's leadings within our Constitutional foundation, General Eisenhower's parting speech rings so prescient and of such an important note - my simple-minded, boiled-down point drawn is 'Beware the Military Industrial Complex'. Hope your weekend has gone well and that your week upcoming is a pleasant one Perle! (WrH)
Regarding the Roosevelt administration’s positive pursuit of war, see Thomas Fleming’s important book, THE NEW DEALER’S WAR (https://a.co/d/2TCTi6t).
Charles Krauthammer first wrote about the US unipolar moment back around 1990. He warned that it was limited in time - it could disappear in a decade or endure for a generation. We got a generation.
It was never going to last forever and sound strategic planning should never have assumed it would. We should have prepared for what comes next. We didn’t.
Yes. The idea that we should wage cynical wars around the world to maintain that moment, supposedly indefinitely, is stupid and immoral.
I see, said the blind man. As a baby boomer, each day it's coming more & more into focus that most of my impressions of a democratic Amerca have been impacted and guided by a deep state, operating mostly invisibly, that arose from the ashes of WWII to what is now so obvious it can't be missed. The key original neocons and deep state architects were The Brothers-Allen (CIA) and John Foster (State) Dulles. (See great book on them for backup detail) The deep state neocon foreign policy is collapsing and leaving our great land weakened and threatened on the world stage, both economically and militarily.
Eisenhower saw it and tried to warn us & JFK paid dearly for trying to stop it. How interesting that JFK fired Allen Dulles for Bay of Pigs and he ended up as key member & de facto director of the Warren Commission. Watergate took out Nixon after he won 49 states & over 500 electoral votes. There have been endless military adventures with untold blood & treasure lost from Vietnam, to Iraq 1&2, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Syria and now Ukraine. Look what happened to Trump when he sniffed around the Ukraine money tree. The folks in Langley combined with the Bureau have proven more powerful than presidents and have the legislative branch totally under their control and operating as a puppy like Uniparty. There's a handful willing to stand up.
But we're awake, a combination of Trump's "bull in a china shop" first term and a propped up Biden fulfilling Obama's warning (Never underestimate Joe's ability to "eff" things up.) The signs of pushback are coming (Elon buying Twitter, "What Is A Woman with over 100 million views in two days, court challenges to Biden exec orders like student loans). The battle is being shaped, and it will be long, filled with defeats and challenges, with great courage & persistence needed for victory.
Let's plant some trees. https://youtu.be/eDZpaA63g30
As another boomer (and we span a large number of years and viewpoints), this is a great statement of the truth regarding where we have been and where we are now, I have to say. For anyone who has lived through these years what you say SHOULD be evident with just a bit of thought. Now, many may not want to accept the truth or are so brainwashed as to not be able to accept it. That is our challenge as a country - we have to educate enough people regarding where things have gone wrong and convince them to make corrections to our path. It is an open question as to whether it is too late to do that. In any case, thank you for in part laying the groundwork for doing this.
There's a great scene concluding the 2019 Mike Cernovich documentary "Hoaxed". In short, imagine walking in a dark cave and gradually emerging into the light. As you proceed, more and more becomes visible. I believe that's the phase we're in, thanks to finally turning the tables on those using cancel culture to limit free speech. We're not out of the tunnel yet, but more and more light is shining. Remember many are still afraid & not ready to see the light.
My feelings too.
Thanks Mark for all the work you're doing....this a wonderful site and I look forward to you r columns. This one should be pinned to the top! I amended my original comment with following: The key original neocons and deep state architects were The Brothers-Allen (CIA) and John Foster (State) Dulles. (See great book on them for backup detail) How interesting that JFK fired Allen Dulles for Bay of Pigs and he ended up as key member & de facto director of the Warren Commission.
Tx, Mike.
An example in the article and the comments. It’s surreal. But. An expert claimed the end is nigh for Russia, so it must be true!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12152585/Recent-attacks-spell-doom-Putin-break-Russia-expert-warns.html
Excellent article. Thank you for sharing.
It makes me want to express my gratitude to all of you! The Meaning In History community and especially Mark, our leader, for keeping us all informed (and sane) in an increasingly insane world.
I appreciate being more aware of what our country is really like (at least the slimy bunch at the top) while being disappointed that it isn't what we were led to believe that it was.
Lessons learned!
It’s actually on topic. It addresses the mass psychosis that enables support within the us the actions to support the American Empire.
Absolutely, as Alexander Mercouris likes to say.
Mark, a most enlightening array of the political thought underpinning the current mad mad war against Russia and our many failed forays into sovereign states to serve the great bug-bear hegemon myth. Thank you for your tenacity, integrity and intellectual heft in bringing all this history to the fore! Even so, there remains with most of us a dull and sad awareness, if not plain disillusion in the growing gap between what our fathers and grandfathers ( not to exclude the mothers!) fought for and believed in circa the 1940’s - something I still grapple with and grieve over.
Hopefully disillusion will lead to political action as it spreads.
Disillusionment, yes, but also anger at the fraud that has been perpetrated on us. Realizing that your country has become the antithesis of what you thought it was, is hard to swallow. Our own patriotism was used against us.
I just re-read portions of Washington's farewell address. Those portions regarding foreign involvement. We should have heeded his warnings.
Yes