The veterans have left town. The flags have been packed away for the Fourth of July. The memory of the Second World War, our Second World War, has been honored — so now perhaps it’s worth taking a moment to honor someone else’s. Continue reading “In Warsaw, a ‘Good War’ Wasn’t”
The Washington Post Column
Blanding-Down History
Over the past few days, the language used to describe the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down segregated public education has been inspiring. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that Brown v. Board of Education “helped us to understand that the Constitution is ‘ours,’ whoever we may be.” Continue reading “Blanding-Down History”
What Would You Do?
Turn the clock back six months. Imagine yourself on the other side of the world, in the soldiers’ quarters at Abu Ghraib prison. Conditions are primitive: There is no mess hall, everyone sleeps in former cellblocks, it’s impossible to escape the heat. Continue reading “What Would You Do?”
Willing Torturers
A few years ago, a scholarly book with the provocative title “Hitler’s Willing Executioners” climbed to the top of U.S. bestseller lists. In part the book attracted attention because its author located the origins of the Nazi death camps in the German national character, in German history and in the specific nature of German anti-Semitism. What happened in Germany, he implied, could never happen anywhere else. Certainly it could never happen here. Continue reading “Willing Torturers”
Preventive Medicine
Two weeks ago, a small Anglo-American biotech company announced that it had stopped recruiting volunteers for a set of clinical trials. On the face of it, that doesn’t sound like a homeland security issue for the U.S. government. Indeed, it doesn’t sound like any kind of issue for the U.S. government. Continue reading “Preventive Medicine”
Having It Both Ways
About five months ago, Colin Powell received an award named in honor of George C. Marshall, another American general who became secretary of state. In advance of that event, Powell indicated that he would like to give an interview to The Post — and told a Post reporter to read up on two incidents in Marshall’s career beforehand. Continue reading “Having It Both Ways”
The Literary Divide
Feeling dazed after an eventful day this week, I stumbled home and switched on my television. I’d just won an extremely grand book prize, and wanted — pathetically — to see whether one of those electronic tickers might be running the news. Continue reading “The Literary Divide”
A Man of Letters
“Good evening, I’m Alistair Cooke, and this is ‘Masterpiece Theater.’ ”
It was a Sunday evening in the mid-1970s. In Britain there were miners’ strikes, blackouts, and weeks without garbage collection. Sterling had collapsed, or was about to. Punk rock was in its early adolescence. The nation was gripped by post-imperial depression, and obsessed with its own decline. Continue reading “A Man of Letters”
Irish Lessons
In New York they celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a parade, green beer and a lot of shamrocks. In this town, we do things differently. Continue reading “Irish Lessons”
Western Unity Takes a Hit
Do the Spanish elections matter? Even stating that question is, in an American political context, absurd: Of course they don’t. Spain is far away. The Spanish voters’ decision to throw out their government can’t possibly affect the U.S. elections. Continue reading “Western Unity Takes a Hit”