Victor Davis Hanson: Response to Readership, July 2004

VictorHanson.com ^ | July 2004 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

Why does America lack the courage we had 60 years ago? Was life simpler with no TV and no "up to the minute” news?

Hanson: Partly. We are more affluent, leisured, safe, and removed from the terror of nature in all its savagery — plague, famine, natural disasters, etc. We suffer from the Hamlet disease of finding a thousand reasons not to do something rather than one to act. That fact of decisive action is the single best recommendation for George Bush; he is a hedgehog, not a fox. And his one great truth is that he grasped that these Islamicists and their autocratic patrons wish to destroy the West as represented by the United States. And he really will act — not preach like Carter and give us the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and a fascist Iran, not talk fire and brimstone and then do almost nothing in Lebanon after the slaughter of Marines like Reagan, not like his father stop short of Baghdad, and not go to Sandy Berger and focus groups and get us a cruise missile and a worried brow like Clinton. Intellectuals hate Bush for his action and failure to consult 1,000 different nuanced talking heads, but most Americans, when they get into that booth in November, are going to ask themselves one question: “does Osama bin Laden and the terrorist sympathizers want Bush or Kerry to win this election?”— and vote accordingly.

I have observed an increasing taciturnity on the part of students (senior military officers) to voice their patriotism. Martha Nussbaum touched on this issue in her essay "Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism" which seems to further the cause of "world citizenship." What are your thoughts on “world citizenship”? What is the value of patriotism?

Hanson: That bothers me too ... VictorHanson.com is must excerpt site

If I understood your argument correctly - with the addition of a civil corps made up of one division - we would then have a military made up of 13 divisions. Is it your belief that our military should be expanded to 13 divisions based on the above format? Do you believe that this configuration of the military would meet the demands of the 21st century and the world’s war on terrorism?

Hanson: At least that many. But I don’t look at the problem in terms of divisions per se, but where they are. Someone must explain why over 150,000 troops (in all four branches) are in places like ...  VictorHanson.com is must excerpt site

VDH will post a response to readers' questions daily. Please email questions to author@victorhanson.com.

[Tolik]

VictorHanson.com is must excerpt site

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

[PGalt]

Thanks. Outstanding opening comments. Bump for later read.

[ml/nj]

And his one great truth is that [Prsident Bush] grasped that these Islamicists and their autocratic patrons wish to destroy the West as represented by the United States.

And that's why he keeps calling it a religion of peace?

ML/NJ

[ICX]

We suffer from the Hamlet disease of finding a thousand reasons not to do something rather than one to act.

Democrats in a nutshell.

[diamond6]

My father just loves Victor's writings!

[Allan]

"What nationality were the Trojans and language did they speak?"

Hanson: From archaeological and philological evidence
Trojans were probably some sort of early Semitic people
and their language akin to Hittite.

What utter nonsense.

Hittite was an Indo-European language
in fact
the earliest known.

Who is this Victor Hanson
and who is interviewing him?
(Himself, perhaps)

Why is he expected to be an expert
in everything
when
clearly
he is not?

[Tolik]

Victor Davis Hanson is a professor of classical history with a special interest in Warfare and Agriculture ( BIO: http://victorhanson.com/Author/index.html ). After 9/11 his powerful articles caught our attention here on FR for clarity and superb analysis of war on terror. He runs his website (http://victorhanson.com/index.html ) for the last half year (?) where he also answers questions of readers (some Q&As were posted in this post).

If you've never read his articles and want to form your opinion, here are the sources:

His NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp (the fall of 2001 articles are especially telling)

more archives: http://victorhanson.com/articles/index.html

Bush Administration opinion as glanced from another article about VDH; they like him maybe as much as we do: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085464/posts?page=6#6

Discussion of his articles here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/k-victordavishanson/browse

About Hittite language, you look like right http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_language that its Indo-European language not Semitic. So, nobody is perfect, I guess...

[Mr.Atos]

Ping!

[sd-joe]

You say: "Hittite was an Indo-European language in fact the earliest known."

What is the problem with what VDH said? He said "their language akin to Hittite". He did not say it WAS Hittite, he said it was AKIN to Hittite.

Troy was probably in the area of present day Turkey (falling in approx 1250 to 1183 BC).

The Hittite language was in use generally in the range of 1650 to 1180 BC. A dialect was used by the Phoenicians, who traveled all over the area (and were considered Semitic).

The Hittite language was certainly used in the area of present day Iraq (certainly close to present day Turkey).

I can see no problem with what VDH said.

[Mr.Atos]

Culture and language are not always and necessarily related. Mexicans for instance are a PreColumbian native American people, and yet their language is akin to LATIN.

To be fair, the Encyclopedic reference states: "Hittite is one of the earliest known Indo-European languages, although marked differences in its structure and phonology have lead some philologists to argue that it should be classified as a sister language to the Indo-European languages, rather than a daughter language.

Now I have been out of the field of Archaeology/Anthropology for some time... long enough to know that previous assumptions (and the known record) change frequently. That is what ongoing investigations are all about. In Mr. Hanson's postion, he is likely feeding off of current and even unpublished information. I won't attempt to speak for Mr. Hanson in this regard. But, it might be worth asking him directly via his website... VDH Website

Farmfriend... you seem just like the sort of Freeper that could shed light on this discussion.

[wideawake]

(1) Sanskrit is probably an earlier Indo-European language that Hittite. We don't know enough yet to definitively call Hittite the earliest known Indo-European language.

(2) Saying that the Trojans could not have been a Semitic people if they spoke a language related to Hittite is like the saying the Irish cannot be a Celtic people becuase they speak a Germanic language.

[TopQuark]

Semitic people and their language akin to Hittite.

I don't think that Hanson called the language Semitic. Could a people Semitic in ethnic origin speak an Indo-European language?

[Allan]

Thank you for your responses.

Here in Fethiye
where I have come to look
at a few Lycian sites
I have limited access to Internet
and I have been unable to respond.

Yes
I read Hanson's article too quickly
in one of my 10 minute sessions
in an Internet cafe
and should not have jumped on him
for mistakenly assuming
he meant the Hittites were Semites.

It is true
that Hittite artifacts have been found
at Troy
but I have not read
anywhere
that there is any factual evidence
that the earliest inhabitants of Troy
were of Semitic origin.

If anyone knows of such evidence
I should be very interested
in knowing a reference.

Allan Trojan