Sublime

Varian Fry.

A global world puts unprecedented pressure on our personal conduct and morality.

The freedom that remained was the decision how to respond.

The fact that 115 million persons gave their lives fighting for nation-states in the twentieth century is stark evidence of the power of epigenesis.71 It shows that many did consider the survival of their nations to be matters of life-and-death importance. The question is whether that attitude will carry over into a new age with different megapolit

the politics of eternity, the seduction by a mythicized past prevents us from thinking about possible futures. The habit of dwelling on victimhood dulls the impulse of self-correction.

And given the immense destructive power of our civilization, we just cannot afford more failed models, world wars, and bloody revolutions.

We have to make changes at the largest and the most personal levels—in economic structures and in habits of thinking and acting. We have to create the conditions of equality and acquire the art of self-government. The two are inseparable, and doing each one makes the other possible. There are things working in our favor. We’ve been shocked to atten

Whatever path we take, the first step is to acknowledge the complexity of the dilemma and to accept that simplistically dividing the past into good guys and bad guys leads nowhere.

The authors began by rejecting the notion that “America must always be in charge.” Rather, they held, the United States should adopt a collegial approach to world affairs, working with other nations and international bodies to resolve disputes. Among these was the Iranian nuclear threat, “which should not be underestimated nor overhyped,” and that