Knowledge is power, it is often said. But power also begets knowledge. Thus a new logic has come into being appropriate to America’s status as the world’s lone superpower. It is important for the rest of us who are weak to learn how and when to break these axioms of the powerful if we are … Read more
“The Philippines is part of the coalition of the willing.” So declared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her speech before the graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy. Her statement came almost at the same hour the United States began its attack on Iraq. As President of the Republic, she speaks for the Filipino nation. It … Read more
People have viewed Sept. 11 in various ways. Many think it awakened America to a vulnerability it did not recognize before. Others believe it made America look into itself. I think Sept. 11 closed the American mind when it put patriotism above reason. Nothing can be more dangerous for any nation than to place its … Read more
We do not equate the American people with George W. Bush, a man Nelson Mandela described as someone who “cannot think properly.” For we know there are many thoughtful Americans who spend a lifetime critically examining the impact of their country’s institutions and policies on their citizens and on other nations. So too we cannot … Read more
Both wars project American military presence, and the recent past gives us sound reasons to doubt the United States government’s motives, and not to allow ourselves ever again to be drawn into America’s wars. American presidents, from Kennedy to Johnson to Nixon, all lied to their own people to justify the invasion of Vietnam. Books … Read more