The Grand -- If you cut me, I would shine. - the conversation i was having in my head

war & the modern presidency?

Tonight was the inauguration of the 2004-05 E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues lectures. This year's series is focused around the "US in a Divided World". David Halberstam spoke tonight in front a full auditorium. A tall man he leaned forward on the podium to speak into the microphone with one foot always propped up slightly behind him on the point of his toe.

His lecture was titled, "War and the Modern American Presidency." He talked about the history of US foreign policy following the Cold War. He talked about the similarities and differences between Vietnam and Iraq. And he talked about how we should have done things differently in Iraq. We should have been more active in pursuing our allies before entering war and we should have paid more attention to the fact that we wouldn't be seen as liberators, but imperialists.

True.

Now what?

I was hoping for more insight into his time as a journalist covering the presidency's of Kennedy, Johnson, and the Bushies during a time of war. Oh well.

While the topic seemed to be lost, there were a few ideas and comments that caught my attention:

- We are not only a militarily and political superpower, but also an educational superpower which allows us to regenerate ourselves as a nation over and over again.

- The paradox that while we tend to be isolationists in our foreign policy, we are seen as imperialists to the rest of the world.

- In Iraq we overestimated our military strength and underestimated our political weakness.

- There was a brief statement made about how the media has sold out to Hollywood, because they don't see themselves as an insitution. I wonder how different, if at all, the media would look if they acted as an institution rather than a pawn.

Anyway, for those of you who'll be around, the next lecture is October 12th. Be there!

Posted by Charity at September 9, 2004 11:15 PM