June 27 2007
Nero did not feel guilty when Rome burned.
Liberals would have said Rome could have been improved a little to prevent the burning.
Libertarians would have said something else could have been done besides building Rome's public works in the first place.
Leninists would decry a parasitic waste, that back in their countries, the slaves could have done something other than build Rome.
It takes a Panglossian cynic to be the fiddler and defend the indefensible. The sick Hooverite (Herbert or J. Edgar) sense of humor is Neroism.
Jeffersonian patriots can not and do not defend the indefensible. Patriotism for the whole world is Leninism.
It took Nero about as long as Bush to wage a war once he came to office, so war is no guarantee of patriotism.
Lenin would have said our Amerikan reactionaries are "decadent." John Dean says there are people "without a conscience." Buddhists would say our Hooverites lack connectedness and compassion. Even those attacking "rootless cosmopolitanism" are concerned. Our Hooverites are just sick puppies.