February 23, 2011
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There’s No Breaking Old Habits
Last night I was reading a great book called The Limits of Power: An End to American Exceptionalism by Andrew Bacevich. Basically it talks about how sort of dangerous the idea of exceptionalism (the idea that we as a country are unique and one of a kind and meant for some great destiny) is for foreign policy. It’s a very interesting supposition. The author focuses mostly on the time period between the Carter administration and the Bush II administration. It’s only about 180 pages but it covers so much ground. The author ties together the ideas of the “empire of expansion” as it bleeds into the “empire of consumption” and the affect on topics such as oil, the end of the Cold War, the various doctrines that came out during the 1970s through the 2000s, as well as all of the “small wars” (rather irregular warfare) that we’ve fought mostly since the 1990s.
It may not sound fascinating to everyone but in my case, once a political science nerd, always a political science nerd. I couldn’t put the book down. It had so many huge ideas in it that I wanted to ruminate on as well as several topics that I want to research that I had to grab my notebook, which is usually used to write insightful things about book club books so I have something to talk about. I wrote down a whole bunch of notes about some of the main ideas of the book.
The Architect came in last night and was confused as to why I was writing stuff down in my notebook while reading a book that was not book club book. I tried to explain about what I was doing and he thought I was a little odd for not just simply enjoying the book. It wasn’t like I was going to be made to repeat anything I learned. It was at that point that I realized two things. First, that I am an incorrigible policy wonk. Second, that I kind of miss college. I wish it were a little easier (and less expensive) to simply audit classes from one of our city’s many universities…
Comments (11)
Well you know you could share the notes on here as a book review…I tend to do that with all the books (music, movies, etc) I get sucked in to…
@HereLiesNelsontheGreat - At the risk of boring you all to tears, I may just have to do that…
@TheCheshireGrins - Eh…do it for selfish reasons…I know I do…my reviews are usually the least commented posts…
I think it has to do with people don’t know how to respond to them…besides ‘that sounds interesting’…
first: reading is thinking.
second: in order to become a writer, you must read a variety of books, compositions, articles, etc.
third: taking notes is a hands-on way to experience the story beyond just visually.
and you combined those things together in order to enjoy the book in your own way. you’re challenging yourself and getting smarter. give yourself a pat on the back.
You never stop learning, ever. Yes, even after all these years, I miss being a student!
I’d definitely be interested in hearing what you have to say about the book. (Personally, when I think of American Exceptionalism, I can’t help thinking that it’s the reason why the USA has earned so much negativity from the rest of the world in the last decade…)
This sounds very similar to the book “Nemisis” by Chalmers Johnson. While I had not previously thought all that much about the American “empire” he made many good points about how our perpetual state of war and global web of military bases (737 at last count!) ultimately saps our treasury and our goodwill from others around the world.
i agree, i love continuing education, but price is a huge factor
It is always wonderful to find a book to read that you enjoy.
If the necessities of life weren’t so real I would be a perpetual student.