By Victor Davis Hanson // Works and Days by PJMedia Western culture is deservedly exceptional. No other tradition has given the individual such security, freedom, and prosperity. The Athens-Jerusalem mixture of Christian humility (and guilt) and the classical Socratic introspection combined in the West to make it a particularly self-reflective and self-critical society, in a […]
Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services In politically driven moods, the ancient Romans often wiped from history all mention of a prior hero or celebrity. They called such erasures damnatio memoriae. The Soviet Union likewise airbrushed away, or “Trotskyized,” all the images of any past kingpin who became politically incorrect. The Obama administration seems
The Oscar nominations have brought a corrosive racial politics to the fore. By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online One of the stranger demands of various campus affiliates of Black Lives Matter was the call for “safe spaces.” That is a euphemism for designated racially segregated areas. In such zones, particular minority groups are
By Victor Davis Hanson // Works and Days hosted by PJMedia Polls confirm that Obama is the most polarizing president in recent memory. There is little middle ground: supporters worship him; detractors in greater number seem to vehemently dislike him. Why then does the president, desperate for some sort of legacy, continue to embrace polarization?
By Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services Hillary Clinton recently said she would go after offshore tax “schemes” in the Caribbean. That is a worthy endeavor, given the loss of billions of dollars in U.S. tax revenue. Yet her husband, Bill Clinton, reportedly made $10 million as an advisor and an occasional partner in
By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online What to fear in Germany — an ideologically driven leader who unilaterally is changing the demographics of the nation without public support, or an angry populist counter-movement that vows to keep Germans safe by any means necessary when the government won’t? Both, or neither? Is Germany postmodern
By Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services Three truths fuel Donald Trump. One, Barack Obama is the Dr. Frankenstein of the supposed Trump monster. If a charismatic, Ivy League-educated, landmark president who entered office with unprecedented goodwill and both houses of Congress on his side could manage to wreck the Democratic Party while turning
Proper liberal credentials trump all the usual forms of identity politics. By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online In the 21st century, doctrinaire liberalism is synonymous with hypocrisy. Or maybe it is better seen as career insurance, providing exemption from all the many paradoxes of a leftist worldview. The rich supporter of affirmative action
By Victor Davis Hanson // PJ Media Legal immigration has historically been classically liberal and a great boon for the United States. Immigrants often bring in energy and fresh ideas. In the past, newcomers from around the world were eager for a second start in the United States. They nearly all worked hard, reminding American-born
By Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services Changes of administrations usually mark dicey times in American foreign policy. But transitional hazards will never be greater than in 2016. Over a span of just a few months in mid-1945, new president Harry Truman lost all trust in Soviet Union strongman Josef Stalin — in a