Very, Very Socratic

John Hawkins from Right Wing News has an excellent interview with Victor Davis Hanson on all topics germane to the War on Terror and more broadly, US foreign policy in the 21st Century. As I've stated in this forum before, I think Hanson is a genius in his ability to apply the lessons of history to modern day challenges. I also like how he never condescends to his audience, in his manner of casually dropping references to even obscure historical figures and events, without ever feeling the need to explain or elaborate. Like any good teacher he challenges us to learn about the subject matter at hand, without spoon feeding us a conclusion or even a telling us the expected path to find the answers. The actual pursuit of knowledge is up to us and this is the foundation of any truly "liberal" education. Furthermore, his analysis and examples are stated so elegantly, you actually want to know more about the subject matter. The ability to convey this impulse is a rare quality for any teacher (granted I can only attest this based on my exclusively public school education).

Grab your reference books and check out this exchange, which ends in a deconstruction of the modern cultural elite and their Classical precedents:

John Hawkins: There have been frequent comparisons of late between the United States and the Roman Empire. How valid do you think those comparisons are? Why so?

Victor Davis Hanson: Politically they are absurd. We do not send proconsuls to demand taxes to pay for basing troops. In fact we do the opposite--pay lavishly for bases that protect others. The imperial senate was impotent, and civil war was common after AD 200 -- we have a stable Congress and little strife. For all the European venom, George Bush is not a Caracalla or even Diocletian. The classical topos of luxus, decadence brought about by affluence and leisure -- read Petronius, Suetonius, or Juvenal -- well, that is a real concern. Self-loathing and smug cynicism from an elite are the first symptoms and we see that clearly among those pampered and secure, who nevertheless ridicule the very system under which they operate in such a privileged fashion -- most notably in the arts, on the campuses, and in the media. A Jessica Lange or Barbara Streisand is right out of a Petronian banquet or perhaps sounds like a Flavian princess spouting off at dinner before returning to Nero's Golden House. Norman Mailer is a modern day Eumolpus bellowing on spec, and a Michael Moore a court-jester brought in to stick his tongue out at his benefactors for their own sick amusement.

This exchange regarding modern Europe also bears highlighting:

John Hawkins: How do you see the relationship between the US and Europe changing over the next decade or so?

Victor Davis Hanson: Radically, as we revert to the pre-1945 world of bilateralism with all its dangers. The cold war was an aberration. Note how quickly the Europeans turned on America once 400 hostile divisions were no longer on their borders. They make up a big continent with a big population that deserves pride and power commensurate with their economy and population; so it is time for both of us to recognize that, bring the troops home or redeploy them in more friendly eastern European countries, and as friends let them develop their own military identity. Keeping 200,000 troops abroad to protect a rich continent is unhealthy for all parties involved. We are a different people, and to preserve our common heritage and friendship, we must recognize those divergences and thus it would be safer in the long run to let them defend themselves and not seek such shrillness in lieu of power and independence. We are in a very Orwellian world now where al Qaeda could hit the Louvre or Vatican and do so with impunity -- if not for the overseas reach of the US military -- and yet the Europeans seem to resent their protectors by reason of their very dependency. Add our frontier experience, our original charter that was antithetical to Europe, our strength in mixed races and religions, our greater allegiances to liberty than enforced equality and it is no surprise that after the Soviets are gone we are rediscovering our differences. This is not fatal and yet cannot be laughed off either by careerists and the self-interested. If France had the ability to act resolutely to stop its ships being attacked off Yemen, then it would be less insecure and less vocal. Instead, we have NATO countries bristling over the invasion by Morocco of a barren rock.

Hanson released a book this fall ("An Autumn of War" which is largely a compilation of his NRO columns) and apparently he's got another one coming out next summer. I can only hope this results in a book tour and that one of my friendly, neighborhood bookstores (Bound to Be Read or Ruminator) signs this guy up for a reading. It could be the biggest intellectual happening on Grand Avenue since the Cookie Bouquet store opened last spring.