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Written by Moshe Amon
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Once upon a time, long time ago, while fulfilling my citizen's duty of serving (one month per annum) in the Israeli's army reserve, my battalion encamped on a beautiful observation post on top of a mountain. The whole valley below, with its green and yellowish fields and red roofed houses, was clear in front of us. The regular army colonel who presided over the exercise presented us with a military problem and asked for solutions. All the officers immediately spread out their maps and started looking for appropriate reference points. The instructor watched them with a mixture of amusement and amazement: "Fools! Why don't you look on what is in front of your eyes, down there in the valley?" |
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Written by Moshe Amon
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[Published in the "Civic Voice" (Wilmington NC) Spring 2005, Vol.5, No.1]
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." H.L. Mencken (The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920)
The results of the last elections apparently reflect more the social convictions and biases of Americans than political cognition and insight. Probably the best way to acquire a good understanding of such a social phenomenon is through books of fiction that intensely focus on certain aspects of society. The two books that helped me better understand the current state of mind of the voters were Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, and Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons. The first can be conceived as a social and political mirror projecting slightly forward towards a possible future, and the second deals with the current state of education that helps make attainment of such a future possible |
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Written by Moshe Amon
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July, 2004
Towards a new political theory
In 1945 America was a super power par excellence. Together with Britain and Russia it had just won the Second World War over Germany, Italy and Japan. Unlike them, it did not suffer any substantial damage on its own turf. While Britain was bankrupt American economy thrived. So much so, that it could affect the disintegration of the British Empire and extend its own economic and political interests throughout the Middle East and other parts of the disbanded empire. The war also brought to America a trove of first class scholars and scientists, from Albert Einstein to Leo Strauss. Together with the G.I. Bill, this import facilitated a massive advance in the level of intellectual thought, scientific research and education. In many respects America flourished. Even so, already in the early fifties Hanna Arendt felt the need to write a long essay on the crisis in American education[1]. |
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