Artifacts of a Troubled and Troublesome Species by Peter McMillan - HTML preview

This is the cartoon that never made it to print.

Ann Telnaes (rough of cartoon killed)

Finally, Kagan could have developed the argument that democracies are by nature more fragile than antiliberal governments, as many others have done. The historical record, being all we have to go on, clearly demonstrates that democracies have existed for a fraction of human history. With respect to the frequency and durability of antiliberal governments, Kagan could have added the evidence that it took a cataclysmic world war to undo the antiliberal regimes in Germany, Italy and Japan.

Despite these shortcomings, Kagan’s book is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature warning against imminent dictatorship in America. It is worthy of consideration in particular because it illustrates how vulnerable America has been to the cultural pull of race and religion. That what we see happening in America has happened before should make us more alert and vigilant to the ever present dangers that threaten our democratic form of government—imperfect as it is—which we often take for granted.

The supreme irony for neocons is that while dictatorship for America is unacceptable, a unipolar world where America is the sole hyperpower is just fine. And so, America can champion the democratic freedoms of its own citizens, at least on paper, while denying that other countries have a self-evident and inalienable right to govern their citizens. In this view, some countries are just too backwards, corrupt or fractured by internecine conflict that it is inconceivable that they be considered candidates for self-governance, democracy and the rule of law. Better that a greater power (or Great Power) guide them and dole out the appropriate amounts of sovereignty at the appropriate time.