'The Way We Were'

[midcan5]

The way we are, well said.

'America was a Plutocratic Nat’l Security State and Still Is'

"Compare the America that welcomed young Donald Trump into the world in 1946 with the country that, some 70 years later, elected him president. As the post-World War II era was beginning, three large facts — so immense that they were simply taken for granted — defined America."" See OP

"Except in a ceremonial sense, the office of the presidency presently lies vacant."

https://www.juancole.com/2018/09/irr...-security.html

"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives." Leo Tolstoy


Author: 'Andrew J. Bacevich is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He is the author of America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House). He received his PhD in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University.'

[Chris]

Your point is what, that America has changed? Wow.

[Captdon]

The way we are, well said.

'America was a Plutocratic Nat’l Security State and Still Is'

"Compare the America that welcomed young Donald Trump into the world in 1946 with the country that, some 70 years later, elected him president. As the post-World War II era was beginning, three large facts — so immense that they were simply taken for granted — defined America."" See OP

"Except in a ceremonial sense, the office of the presidency presently lies vacant."

https://www.juancole.com/2018/09/irr...-security.html

"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives." Leo Tolstoy


Author: 'Andrew J. Bacevich is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He is the author of America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (Random House). He received his PhD in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University.'

You are too gullible.

[midcan5]

It doesn't appear that anyone read the piece. Offhanded replies are not replies. An additional interesting OP is below, in the above case it is our values, and in the additional OP our system of government. Tony Judt's piece covers the original thought.

'The US is a failed state thanks to its system of government'

https://aeon.co/ideas/the-us-is-a-fa...-of-government


"Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them." Tony Judt 'Ill Fares the Land'

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...fares-the-land

[Chris]

It doesn't appear that anyone read the piece. Offhanded replies are not replies. An additional interesting OP is below, in the above case it is our values, and in the additional OP our system of government. Tony Judt's piece covers the original thought.

'The US is a failed state thanks to its system of government'

https://aeon.co/ideas/the-us-is-a-fa...-of-government


"Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them." Tony Judt 'Ill Fares the Land'

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...fares-the-land

It doesn't appear you did either since you make no comment on it's content that I can see in the OP or latest post.