Entertainers wrongly assume that their fame, money, and influence arise from broad knowledge rather than natural talent, looks, or mastery of a narrow skill. Victor Davis Hanson More Quotes by Victor Davis Hanson More Quotes From Victor Davis Hanson There's just no - nothing like this country, which is the only, really, multiracial country that's tried to share in a common culture in the history of civilization that's pulled it off. A lot of the times, we want perfection. If we're not perfect, we're not good. Victor Davis Hanson perfect civilization country I think people are beating each other up in the halls of Congress, as they did in the late 1850s. Victor Davis Hanson congress people thinking If I talk to black students on campus, they're not sympathetic to the people who are not sympathetic with [Black Lives Matter movement]. The fact that you want to argue rather than find some common ground, I think, has gotten a lot worse in the last years. Victor Davis Hanson people years thinking If I talk to rural people where I live - mostly Hispanic but also poor white - they're not sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement. Victor Davis Hanson black white people Taking on all at once Germany, Japan, and Italy - diverse enemies all - did not require the weeding out of all the fascists and their supporters in Mexico, Argentina, Eastern Europe, and the Arab world. Instead, those in jackboots and armbands worldwide quietly stowed all their emblems away as organized fascism died on the vine once the roots were torn out in Berlin, Rome, and Tokyo. So too will the terrorists, once their sanctuaries and capital shrivel up - as is happening as we speak. Victor Davis Hanson japan weed roots Behind every liberal philanthropist fortune is a huge capitalist score. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can afford now to be liberal - an expensive indulgence - because in their early incarnations they were no-holds-barred capitalists who made lots of enemies conducting business without mercy and in search of pure profit. Victor Davis Hanson warren-buffet bills enemy I wish I could attribute the absence of any conventional Arab offensive in the last 20 years to a change of political climate or a willingness to abide by past accords. But unfortunately it is more likely that the Egyptians or Syrians concluded that the next time their tanks headed to Tel Aviv, there was nothing stopping the counterassaults from ending up in downtown Cairo or Damascus. Victor Davis Hanson political past years Can-do Americans courageously go about their duty in Iraq - mostly unafraid that a culture of 2,000 years, the reality of geography, the sheer forces of language and religion, the propaganda of state-run Arab media and the cynicism of the liberal West are all stacked against them. Victor Davis Hanson media running reality Western elites - the beneficiaries of 60 years of peace and prosperity achieved by the sacrifices to defeat fascism and Communism - are unhappy in their late middle age, and show little gratitude for, or any idea about, what gave them such latitude. If they cannot find perfection in history, they see no good at all. Victor Davis Hanson gratitude sacrifice years Any time the Western way of war can be unleashed on an enemy stupid enough to enter its arena, victory is assured. Victor Davis Hanson stupid war enemy Gas prices in many parts of the country are nearing $4 a gallon; it could get even worse as unrest spreads throughout the oil-exporting Middle East. Yet the Obama administration once again seems to see no crisis. It has curtailed new leases for offshore oil exploration for seven years and exempted thousands of acres in the West from new drilling. It will not reconsider opening up small areas of Alaska with known large oil reserves. Victor Davis Hanson oil country years Nor did Americans believe that Republicans had been waging war on minorities, women, or gays - especially given that Republicans have held the House only since 2011 and have been out of power in the Senate and presidency since 2009. Victor Davis Hanson gay war believe It is a hard thing for intellectuals to acknowledge benefits from their rich moral inferiors who never so intended it. Victor Davis Hanson rich benefits moral States are like people. They do not question the awful status quo until some dramatic event overturns the conventional and lax way of thinking. Victor Davis Hanson events people thinking Most authoritarians do not surrender power voluntarily. Victor Davis Hanson surrender For all the criticism about warlords, it is now likely that Afghanistan will never again be turned over to al Qaeda to train thousands to conduct the type of murder we saw on September 11. For all real problems with ambushes and sabotage, there will be no more gassings, mass murdering, invading neighbors, sending guided missiles across borders or no-fly zones in Iraq, but rather the hard work of consensual government - a difficult process easily caricatured, but when completed universally admired. Victor Davis Hanson iraq hard-work real So why, after prior successes, did Obama's race/class/gender attack finally sputter out like the French at Waterloo? Victor Davis Hanson notable race class Unhappy voters thought the anemic economy, Obamacare, the collapse of U.S. foreign policy, the scandals in government, and the incompetent handling of everything from the Islamic State to Ebola were the only real issues. Democrats' refusal to acknowledge them did not make these failures go away. Victor Davis Hanson islamic government real In history, one gathers clues like a detective, tries to present an honest account of what most likely happened, and writes a narrative according to what we know and, where we aren't absolutely sure, what might be most likely to have happened, within the generally accepted rules of evidence and sources. Victor Davis Hanson narrative writing trying War seems to come out of nowhere, like rust that suddenly pops up on iron after a storm. Victor Davis Hanson storm iron war
