Myth Of Peace

"Sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace." -Bob Dylan

Republican speechwriter Mark Helprin writes in The L.A. Times about the myth that helps form the world of George W. Bush:

"The President believes and often states, as if it were a self-evident truth, that 'democracies are peaceful countries.' This claim, which has been advanced in the past in regard to Christianity, socialism, Islam and ethical culture, is the postulate on which the foreign policy of the United States now rests."

The problem is that democracies are not in fact inherently peaceful and Bush has kept our democracy at war for the better part of his administration, while continuously declaring he embraces peace.

Helprin continues:

“Balance of power, deterrence and punitive action have been abandoned in favor of a scheme to recast the political cultures of broad regions, something that would be difficult enough even with a flawless rationale because the power of even the most powerful country in the world is not adequate to transform the world at will.

"Not only does the U.S. expend a great deal of effort to usher politically impure states into a form of popular sovereignty that will not stop them from acting inimically to our interests, but in distancing itself from authoritarian states that are willing to work with us, it forgoes potentially critical advantages.

"For the pleasure of displaying our virtue, we may someday suffer innumerable casualties in a terrorist attack that a compromised state might have helped us to prevent.

"In foreign policy, carelessness and confusion often lead to tragedy. Thus, a maxim chosen to guide the course of a nation should be weighed in light of history and common sense.

"Or is that too much to ask?”