The Fall of Great Nations

We Americans are the Greeks of our day, and as we now go to war, we should appreciate not only the beauty of the tale, but also the warnings within it.
So ends “Cassandra Speaks” by Nicholas Kristof (NY Times).
Some statements from the article:
Troy offers us three lessons about war.
— Agamemnon was the Donald Rumsfeld of his day, needlessly angering his key allies.
–Troy’s fundamental failing was not a military one.
–So, by Zeus, that third lesson from Troy is the paramount need to listen to skeptical voices.

But Bush listens to his own personal god, not to the millions of Cassandras who circle the planet in candlelight.

Leave a Reply