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Tomas Mifek's avatar

It's very obvious to me now that we've been deliberately deceived by our education system. I was paying attention in high school history and went on to acquire a piece of decorative paper deemed to denote a degree in modern history and international relations. I covered American history, modern Germany, the two world wars, the Cold War, Eastern European communism, the Meji revolution, Chinese civil war, history of western political thought. No-where did anyone bring up the perspective of the two clashing models, nor to examine the approach to economic and national development policies of national leaders through this perspective. Yet the quotes from the personalities in the article, all of whom I encountered during my studies, make it clear that Bismarck, Sun Yat-sen, Ho Chi Mingh, Lincoln, McKingley, Willy Brandt, Laurier, senior American military officers were thinking in these terms. Churchill's history of the Second World War and Mahan were on my supplementary reading list. Quigley was not. (I read Guderian's Panzer Leader and Col Harry G. Summer's On Strategy instead.) All those dead presidents? American gun violence, nothing more to be seen here. We didn't look closer at the Gouzenko affair, the FLQ crisis, British and French support of the Confederacy and Alexander II's support on the side of the Union and his internal policies. Assassinated European statesmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Anarchists. No need to look for any commonalities amongst the victims nor into who was backing the anarchists. My American and Cold War history professors depicted FDR as a naïve, ill weakling in dealing with Stalin, while Churchill was depicted as the clever chess master who knew he was dealing with two ruthless, murderous dictators and how to deal with them. We skipped right over Bertrand Russel.

Truly indeed, the main target was missed when the German and Japanese war machines were destroyed.

Brilliant work Cynthia. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

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Loon's avatar

What a excellent article revealing that the theme of liberty for all is now taken up by the Russians/ China in recognizing the respect due to one’s sovereign state.

It’s an anti imperialist move and how ironic America is now fighting against the adored American System of the 19th century.

Bertram Russell completely fooled by his social background of his imperial class to appreciate the illogic of his stance for a American hegemony to rule the world .

To institute the same thing.

It’s a natural instinct deeper than logic influencing us to have the hegemony of one rule as the alpha male in a pack of wolves does over its group.

We are animals after all .

One sees this in science ad well with its social biases.

Conrad Lorenz began to observe and study us as an animal for the reasons behind our outrageous violence creating the two WW wars.

The Natural world is full of surprises !

What a beautiful excellent article to provoke a discussion on how we arrived at where we are today and is to be appreciated Immensely.

History is indeed is a living thing as is the genetics inherent in our memory.

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