l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 英国历史学家Paul Johnson：佩林代表了与政治正确对立的美国的好传统，她有勇气。
你可能有正确的想法和表达它们的能力，但如果没有勇气...其他美德都没用
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870355960457617588
Why America Will Stay on Top
Eminent historian Paul Johnson on Sarah Palin, the tea party, and 'baddies'
from Napoleon to Gadhafi.
By BRIAN M. CARNEY
London
In his best-selling history of the 20th century, "Modern Times," British
historian Paul Johnson describes "a significant turning-point in American
history: the first time the Great Republic, the richest nation on earth,
came up against the limits of its financial resources." Until the 1960s, he
writes in a chapter titled "America's Suicide Attempt," "public finance was
run in all essentials on conventional lines"—that is to say, with budgets
more or less in balance outside of exceptional circumstances.
"The big change in principle came under Kennedy," Mr. Johnson writes. "In
the autumn of 1962 the Administration committed itself to a new and radical
principle of creating budgetary deficits even when there was no economic
emergency." Removing this constraint on government spending allowed Kennedy
to introduce "a new concept of 'big government': the 'problem-eliminator.'
Every area of human misery could be classified as a 'problem'; then the
Federal government could be armed to 'eliminate' it."
Twenty-eight years after "Modern Times" first appeared, Mr. Johnson is
perhaps the most eminent living British historian, and big government as
problem-eliminator is back with a vengeance—along with trillion-dollar
deficits as far as the eye can see. I visited the 82-year-old Mr. Johnson in
his West London home this week to ask him whether America has once again
set off down the path to self-destruction. Is he worried about America's
future?
"Of course I worry about America," he says. "The whole world depends on
America ultimately, particularly Britain. And also, I love America—a
marvelous country. But in a sense I don't worry about America because I
think America has such huge strengths—particularly its freedom of thought
and expression—that it's going to survive as a top nation for the
foreseeable future. And therefore take care of the world."
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Chris Serra
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Pessimists, he points out, have been predicting America's decline "since the
18th century." But whenever things are looking bad, America "suddenly
produces these wonderful things—like the tea party movement. That's cheered
me up no end. Because it's done more for women in politics than anything
else—all the feminists? Nuts! It's brought a lot of very clever and quite
young women into mainstream politics and got them elected. A very good
little movement, that. I like it." Then he deepens his voice for effect and
adds: "And I like that lady—Sarah Palin. She's great. I like the cut of her
jib."
The former governor of Alaska, he says, "is in the good tradition of America
, which this awful political correctness business goes against." Plus: "She'
s got courage. That's very important in politics. You can have all the right
ideas and the ability to express them. But if you haven't got guts, if you
haven't got courage the way Margaret Thatcher had courage—and [Ronald]
Reagan, come to think of it. Your last president had courage too—if you
haven't got courage, all the other virtues are no good at all. It's the
central virtue."
***
Mr. Johnson, decked out in a tweed jacket, green cardigan and velvet house
slippers, speaks in full and lengthy paragraphs that manage to be at once
well-formed and sprinkled with a healthy dose of free association. He has a
full shock of white hair and a quick smile. He has, he allows, gone a bit
deaf, but his mind remains sharp and he continues to write prolifically. His
main concession to age, he says, is "I don't write huge books any more. I
used to write 1,000 printed pages, but now I write short books. I did one on
Napoleon, 50,000 words—enjoyed doing that. He was a baddie. I did one on
Churchill, which was a bestseller in New York, I'm glad to say. 50,000 words
. He was a goodie." He's also written short forthcoming biographies of
Socrates (another "goodie") and Charles Darwin (an "interesting figure").
Mr. Johnson says he doesn't follow politics closely anymore, but he quickly
warms to the subject of the Middle East. The rash of uprisings across the
Arab world right now is "a very interesting phenomenon," he says.
"It's something that we knew all about in Europe in the 19th century. First
of all we had the French Revolution and its repercussions in places like
Germany and so on. Then, much like this current phenomenon, in 1830 we had a
series of revolutions in Europe which worked like a chain reaction. And
then in 1848, on a much bigger scale—that was known as the year of
revolutions."
In 1848, he explains, "Practically every country in Europe, except England
of course . . . had a revolution and overthrew the government, at any rate
for a time. So that is something which historically is well-attested and the
same thing has happened here in the Middle East."
Here he injects a note of caution: "But I notice it's much more likely that
a so-called dictatorship will be overthrown if it's not a real dictatorship.
The one in Tunisia wasn't very much. Mubarak didn't run a real dictatorship
[in Egypt]. Real dictatorships in that part of the world," such as Libya,
are a different story.
As for Moammar Gadhafi, "We'll see if he goes or not. I think he's a real
baddie, so we hope he will." The Syrian regime, he adds, "not so long ago in
Hama . . . killed 33,000 people because they rose up." Then, "above all,"
there is Iran. "If we can get rid of that horrible regime in Iran," he says,
"that will be a major triumph for the world."
Frank judgments like these are a hallmark of Mr. Johnson's work, delivered
with almost child-like glee. Of Mahatma Gandhi, he wrote in "Modern Times":
"About the Gandhi phenomenon there was always a strong aroma of twentieth-
century humbug."
Socrates is much more to Mr. Johnson's liking. Whereas, in Mr. Johnson's
telling, Gandhi led hundreds of thousands to death by stirring up civil
unrest in India, all the while maintaining a pretense of nonviolence,
Socrates "thought people mattered more than ideas. . . . He loved people,
and his ideas came from people, and he thought ideas existed for the benefit
of people," not the other way around.
In the popular imagination, Socrates may be the first deep thinker in
Western civilization, but in Mr. Johnson's view he was also an anti-
intellectual. Which is what makes him one of the good guys. "One of the
categories of people I don't like much are intellectuals," Mr. Johnson says.
"People say, 'Oh, you're an intellectual,' and I say, 'No!' What is an
intellectual? An intellectual is somebody who thinks ideas are more
important than people."
And indeed, Mr. Johnson's work and thought are characterized by concern for
the human qualities of people. Cicero, he tells me, was not a man "one would
have liked to have been friends with." But even so the Roman statesman is "
often very well worth reading."
His concern with the human dimension of history is reflected as well in his
attitude toward humor, the subject of another recent book, "Humorists." "The
older I get," he tells me, "the more important I think it is to stress
jokes." Which is another reason he loves America. "One of the great
contributions that America has made to civilization," he deadpans, "is the
one-liner." The one-liner, he says, was "invented, or at any rate brought to
the forefront, by Benjamin Franklin." Mark Twain's were the "greatest of
all."
And then there was Ronald Reagan. "Mr. Reagan had thousands of one-liners."
Here a grin spreads across Mr. Johnson's face: "That's what made him a great
president."
Jokes, he argues, were a vital communication tool for President Reagan "
because he could illustrate points with them." Mr. Johnson adopts a
remarkable vocal impression of America's 40th president and delivers an
example: "You know, he said, 'I'm not too worried about the deficit. It's
big enough to take care of itself.'" Recovering from his own laughter, he
adds: "Of course, that's an excellent one-liner, but it's also a perfectly
valid economic point." Then his expression grows serious again and he
concludes: "You don't get that from Obama. He talks in paragraphs."
***
Mr. Johnson has written about the famous and notorious around the world and
across centuries, but he's not above telling of his personal encounters with
history. He is, he says, "one of a dwindling band of people who actually
met" Winston Churchill.
"In 1946," he tells me, "he came up to my hometown because he was speaking
at the Conservative Party conference up the road. And I managed to get in
just as he was about to leave to make his speech. And I was 16. He seemed
friendly, so I was inspired to say, 'Mr. Winston Churchill, sir, to what do
you attribute your success in life?' And he said without any hesitation"—
here Mr. Johnson drops his voice and puts on a passable Churchill impression
—"'Conservation of energy. Never stand up when you can sit down. And never
sit down when you can lie down,'" he relates with a laugh. "And I've never
forgotten this," he says, "because as a matter of fact, it's perfectly good
advice."
Here he adds the kicker: "Interestingly enough, Theodore Roosevelt, who had
a lot in common with Winston Churchill in many ways, but was quite a bit
older, said of him, 'Oh, that Winston Churchill, he is not a gentleman. He
doesn't get to his feet when a lady enters the room.'"
Mr. Carney is editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe and
the co-author of "Freedom, Inc." (Crown Business, 2009). | l******a
发帖数: 3803 | 2
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870355960457617588
ml
'baddies'
美国的政治是越来越操蛋了。
美国从肯尼迪开始，政客就他妈扮演wealth spreader，
把收买无脑的穷人作为性价比最高的政治手段。
本来保持一定的welfare是一个现代社会必须的。
结果，这帮二逼，非他妈一股脑走到黑，故意混淆
合理不合理的界限，高举民权这个妓女的月经布，
熏的他妈正常人都没法正视。
这帮二逼最牛逼的是没有信仰，只信下面这句：
do as I say not what I live.
所以那一票liberal人渣在捐款上比不了conservative.
But dare you come forth to round up illegal immigrants (in AZ)!!!
Or you want to prosecute terrorists in military court!!!
They're gonna jump all over you!!!
On top of this sits this slim shit Kenya chimp who got bullet-proof vest
from criticism - or CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS interracial brewed monkeys will turn
their dirty guns on you!
Not a fan of Sarah Palin ( yet if given choice between Palin and Michelle
O'Dumba, even the liberals will choose the former hands-down, on a side
note), but her treatment on media has exposed how hypocrite the liberal
swingers are if you compare to their whore-ship on the chimp.
A good organization should be run on major positions by someone seen best
fit, not by their DNA. Ironic, those liberals talk about science as golden
rules in deal with religion. Then, why not admit the fact that when God
created some "people" up there, scripts said people heard weak but clear
voice from heaven:
XXXXXXX.
OK that's hebrew version of
Oops, or Uh Oh
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: 英国历史学家Paul Johnson：佩林代表了与政治正确对立的美国的好传统，她有勇气。
: 你可能有正确的想法和表达它们的能力，但如果没有勇气...其他美德都没用
: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870355960457617588
: Why America Will Stay on Top
: Eminent historian Paul Johnson on Sarah Palin, the tea party, and 'baddies'
: from Napoleon to Gadhafi.
: By BRIAN M. CARNEY
: London
: In his best-selling history of the 20th century, "Modern Times," British
: historian Paul Johnson describes "a significant turning-point in American
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