[Cicero]

Interesting article, but it begs several questions.

First, I would agree that a conservative should be a realist. But then you get into arguments about what is reality? To a Machiavellian the word means one thing; to a Christian it means something quite different.

Most of us probably sympathize with the ideas expressed in Washington's Farewell Address. But do the same conditions apply today that applied in the 18th century? We should avoid foreign entanglements as far as possible, but can we avoid them entirely if foreigners now have the power to develop the means to kill us right here or even to destroy our country? Unfortunately not.

[u-89]

Most of us probably sympathize with the ideas expressed in Washington's Farewell Address. But do the same conditions apply today that applied in the 18th century?

The rules of the game - the constitution and the advise of the founders - apply today as then and indeed are still valuable and viable. The trouble is we departed from them long ago and show no sign of learning from our mistakes. Had that advise been heeded we would not have been ensnared in any of the bloodshed from The Boxer Rebellion to today. In fact the involvement of the US in long ago foreign wars had consequences that we and the world live with today. We cannot relive the past but we can learn form it and try to correct our course. If one suffers from a mistake repeating the same mistaken actions will not solve the problem.