Category Archives: History
“I profess myself a Mazda-worshipper, a Zoroastrian, having vowed it and professed it. I pledge myself to the well-thought thought, I pledge myself to the well-spoken word, [and] I pledge myself to the well-done action.”1 This oath to believe in God and act according to his principles comes from Zoroastrian scripture, a representative of the millennia-old literature of Persia. Despite its age, scholars have not examined Persian literature to any great degree. Many of its few extant remains lay spread … Continue reading
Known as the “Great Communicator,” United States President Ronald Reagan used plain speaking and affecting homilies to connect with his audiences, making them more willing to embrace his point of view. Reagan’s success as a persuasive orator ingratiated him with his allies, who appreciated his ability to win support for their cause, and infuriated his enemies, who could not understand how a man, with what they considered deficient ideas, could achieve the popular support Reagan did for his agenda. Thirteen … Continue reading
Dec. 31, 2011, edit: How amazing the effect the passing of a decade can have on one’s perspective. While I still stand by the thesis we are not in a “clash of civilizations” with the Muslim world, I of course must vacate the propositions that American interventions have been warmly greeted in targeted countries. And I believe American foreign interventionism clearly does inspire loathing of the United States that sometimes ignites terrorist ambitions; I would strongly dismiss the Bush explanation were … Continue reading
What can one say about Dudley Newcomb Carpenter, whom one newspaper called “one of the finest looking, most sociable and brightest officers of his grade in the navy”?1 Not much, really. I searched the Internet with Google and perused the databases on ALADIN, entering every iteration of Carpenter’s name I could imagine, but I still could not find a lot beyond a rough summary of his life. He entered this world on June 28, 1874, in Kittery, Maine,2 and left … Continue reading
