Military Sacrifice: The Culture of too Few

This was mostly nonsense, of course. Just as we had ignored Carter’s critique of their “mistaken idea of freedom,” so too we passed on Bush’s “culture of responsibility.” To avoid getting sucked into the Middle East, Carter had admonished Americans to change their ways. The response: Piss off. With the United States now wading into a Middle Eastern quagmire, Bush revived Carter’s call for a cultural Great Awakening. Although 9/11 briefly induced a mood of “United We Stand,” the invasion of Iraq, with all the mournful consequences that ensued, terminated that feel-good moment, and demolished Bush’s standing as moral arbiter.