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Dubya and History

Dubya and Me - Walt Harrington

I had just read Bush’s 2010 memoir Decision Points, and I was struck by his many references to history. In the back of my mind was an article that Karl Rove had written for The Wall Street Journal in 2008, which revealed (much to the consternation of the president’s derisive critics) that Bush had read 186 books for pleasure in the preceding three years, consisting mostly of serious historical nonfiction. Intrigued, I asked Bush whether he would talk to me about how his passion for reading history had shaped his presidency and perspective, and he agreed.

When I sat down to write about that meeting, however, a different story emerged. History is composed of significant and less significant moments, the trouble being that we often don’t know at the time which is text and which is footnote. Yet when it comes to presidents, even footnotes are worth recording. I realized that what I had before me was a story that went beyond politics or policies or the reading habits of a president, an idiosyncratically personal story, a footnote-to-history story spanning a quarter-century.

Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers is the Robert Heinlein story about Juan (Johnnie) Rico and his experience in the Terran Mobile Infantry. Widely recognized as a classic in science fiction, it is nonetheless tagged as "The Controversial Classic of Military Adventure" by the publisher. Such tagging says as much about the publisher as it does the book. Here is a sampling of the controversial moral philosophy Johnnie is exposed to in high school and boot camp.

Page 26 (in History and Moral Philosophy class)

But on the last day he seemed to be trying to find out what we had learned. One girl told him bluntly: "My mother says that violence never settles anything."

"So?" Mr. Dubois looked at her bleakly. "I'm sure that the city fathers of Carthage would be glad to know that. Why doesn't you mother tell them so? Or why don't you?"

They had tangled before -- since you couldn't flunk the course, it wasn't necessary to keep Mr. Dubois buttered up. She said shrilly, "You're making fun of me! Everybody knows that Carthage was destroyed!"

"You seemed to be unaware of it," he said grimly. "Since you do know it, wouldn't you say that violence had settled their destinies rather thoroughly? However, I was not making fun of you personally; I was heaping scorn on an inexcusably silly idea -- a practice I shall always follow. Anyone who clings to the historically untrue -- and thoroughly immoral -- doctrine that 'violence never settles anything' I would advise to conjure up the ghosts or Napolean Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at best. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms."

Page 27 -

Suddenly he pointed his stump at me. "You. What is the moral difference between the soldier and the civilian?"

"The difference," I answered carefully, "lies in the field of civic virtue. A soldier accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic of which he is a member, defending it, if need be, with his life. The civilian does not."

"The exact words of the book," he said scornfully. "But do you understand it? Do you believe it?"

Page 54 (at boot camp)

Zim said almost gently, "You've got it all wrong, son. There's no such thing as a 'dangerous weapon.'"

"Huh? Sir?"

"There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. We're trying to teach you to be dangerous -- to the enemy. Dangerous even without a knife. Deadly as long as you still have one hand or one foot and are still alive. If you don't know what I mean, go read 'Horatius at the Bridge' or 'The Death of the Bon Homme Richard'; they're both in the Camp library."

Page 97 (in History and moral Philosophy)

He had been droning along about "value," comparing the Marxist theory with the orthodox "use" theory. Mr. Dubois had said, "Of course, the Marxian definition of value is rediculous. All the work one cares to add will not turn a mud pie into an apple tart, it remains a mud pie, value zero. By corollary, unskillful work can easily subtract value; an untalented cook can turn wholesome dough and fresh green apples, valuable already, into an inedible mess, value zero. Conversely, a great chef can fashion of those same materials a confection of greater value than a commonplace apple tart, with no more effort than an ordinary cook uses to prepare the ordinary sweet.

"These kitchen illustrations demolish the Marxian theory of value -- the fallacy from which the entire magnificent fraud of communism derives -- and illustrate the truth of the common-sense definition as measured in terms of use."

Page 99

I fancy that the poet who wrote that somg meant to imply that the best things in life must be purchased other than with money -- which is true -- just as the literal meaning of his words is false. The best things in life are beyond money; their price is agony and sweat and devotion ... and the price demanded for the most precious of all things in life is life itself -- ultimate cost for perfect value."

See also, page 117 on capital punishment and page 125 on duty vs. rights.

Good Books

Better Books for Next Year's Beaches - Scott W. Johnson

Peter Wood and Ashley Thorne of the National Association of Scholars have compiled an absolutely great list of 37 books (plus a second list of six more difficult books) that they recommend for college "common reading" programs. The list follows up on the June 2010 NAS report on common reading programs. The NAS list of recommended books is included in "Read these instead: Better books for next year's beaches."

Other Book Lists:

• Robert Stacy McCain's 2008 Holiday Books
• Good Math Books At An Even Better Price
• Novels of the Right - John J Miller
• What Are the Best Political Thrillers? - John J Miller
• The Fraters Library
• Library of Economics and Liberty

The Man Who Was Thursday

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton is a story about a British detective, Gilbert Syme, who goes under cover to investigate a group of anarchists in early-1900's London. It is subtitled A Nightmare because it is combination of realistic fiction, fantasy and allegory.

Inspector Syme is able to join the anarchists and soon finds himself a member of the inner council. Each member of the council is a code-named for a day of the week, and Syme receives the name "Thursday". Syme feels utterly alone and fears for his life among these murderous men. However he gradually discovers that there are other detectives among the anarchists. With them, he attempts to bring down the group of conspirators and makes many paradoxical discoveries along the way.

Chesterton addresses many themes from a Christian viewpoint in this novel. Some of them are enduring loneliness, confronting evil, overcoming fear, willingly encountering danger, the purpose of hardship and suffering, and understanding that we only have partial knowledge in this life. It is fun to read and provides many valuable insights on life.