It was a strange semester. Looking back, prematurely, I remember getting overwrought about politics. This is still the case. But what really interests me is the possibility that very few people born after the end of the Cold War fully appreciate just how pitched that battle was. Not only in terms of real violence but ideologically.

Some of the best anti-communists have been Liberals, historically. The same is true today. Ask a friend how many people were killed in (formerly) Indochina during the American War. Ask them how many people have died thus far in Iraq. Yet mainline Cold War Democrats at least offered a social-democratic/ Keynesian settlement to sweeten the pills of proxy wars, dirty tricks, and outright imperialism.

Continue reading →