March 06, 2007
Old Europe, New Europe and America
One of my favorite sites is The Return of Scipio, authored by my good friend Mike. Now, Mike and I probably don't see eye to eye on everything but we see eye to eye on enough that if we were neighbors, we'd be at the gossip fence if we weren't sleeping or at work. Mike has written a post entitled Dangerous Nation in which he discusses another poll discussing the worlds "hatred of America" (and Israel of course). What caught my eye was the following:
What Metternich himself wrote about America almost 200 years ago could have been written today by—you guessed it—the effete and decayed metrosexual elites of the world.If this flood of evil doctrines and pernicious examples should extend… what would become of the moral force of our governments…?Easy answer, Metternich: Nothing will become of it. The ‘the moral force’ of the Europe you admired is spent. It wasted its time and imaginings on the silly gibberings of Rousseau and Voltaire. It squandered its energies on nazism and fascism and socialism and communism. It sacrificed its best in the trenches of WW I. It gave over the Chosen to the ovens of the Third Reich."
Read the whole thing, and leave Mike a comment.
Posted by GM Roper at March 6, 2007 08:08 PM | TrackBackActually, the article on Metternich is fascinating. Follow the links about 19th century diplomatic realism, specifically "balance of power." Metternich's statement about America can only be examined in that light.
I would say that Metternich was not criticizing America because of any genuine belief that America was morally wrong but rather because of the pragmatic reason that England was by far the stronger empire and thus of far greater significance to Austria's future. Ultimately he was wrong, but who can see 200 years into the future?
Posted by e. nonee moose at March 7, 2007 08:20 AM
