Don't Ever Stop Looking Back

Last night on C-SPAN, Victor Davis Hanson gave another brilliant speech on the position the US finds itself in vis-a-vis the war on terrorism and the corresponding, almost unanimous, criticism by the rest of the world. Unfortunately, there's no indication of a replay of this event via the C-SPAN site (although they're not very forthcoming with future broadcast schedules, so you never know).

However, VDH does have a new book coming out entitled "An Autumn of War" and he's participating in an online forum via the Washington Post on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 10:00 AM CDT that will definitely be worth checking out.

Even as far back as Biblical times, philosophers and scholars have realized "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, there is nothing new under the sun." (ECC 1:9 RSV) but it seems most people (of every era) forget this and we presume and act as if we're the first and only ones to face a particular challenge or set of circumstances. I get the sense that most Americans feel that we are alone in this dangerous and high stakes fight against radical Islam and state-sponsored terrorism, without any guidance besides our own, sometimes unreliable, reason to help us decide how we should proceed. The specter of weapons of mass destruction and an enemy who appears so eager to use them increases our sense of isolation and trepidation.

Hanson's unique contribution to modern journalism is his comprehensive understanding of history, particularly from the Classical era. His ability to identify previously hidden patterns of history and to relate them to a modern context is stunning and reassuring. Stunning in that you can't believe how clear and well defined these patterns are and how everyone else (particularly in the media/poltics) has missed them and trundle on as if we need to reinvent a new paradigm. Reassuring in that you come to realize other societies have faced challenges equally as daunting as our own and that there's a track record of how to succeed and how to fail when faced with these challenges.

If you're not familiar with Hanson, reviewing his back columns on National Review Online is well worth your time. As an example, check out this one which discusses, among other topics a war with Iraq. It is immediately relevant to the headlines in today's paper, but it was written almost a year ago, just a few weeks after the WTC attack.