“‘Americans are cowboys’, Europeans love to say. And there is truth in this. The United States does act as an international sheriff, self-appointed perhaps, but widely welcomed nevertheless, trying to enforce some peace and justice in what Americans see as a lawless world where outlaws need to be deterred or destroyed, often through the muzzle of a gun. Europe, by this wild west analogy, is more like the saloon-keeper. Outlaws shoot sheriffs, not saloon-keepers. In fact, from the saloon-keeper’s point of view, the sheriff trying to impose order by force can sometimes be more threatening than the outlaws, who at least for the time being may just want a drink.”
– Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power
2 responses so far ↓
Zugman // July 11, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I think that is a pretty good analogy, and the actual book sounds very interesting. You sure know how to find cool net stuff, dude!
hydralisk // July 11, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I didn’t find this on the net. I found this at my local library (some while back). You can still find things in libraries, although they tend not to be quite as awesome as the things you can find on Youtube.
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