Commentary:

A historic event to note...

...with a full understanding of the difference between historic and historical.

On this date in 1948, the Berlin Airlift began, arguably the first direct confrontation of the two postwar hegemonies established in the wake of World War II in Europe.

History is more complicated than the simple narratives we are taught in our elementary and high schools, more complicated than what little we learn while sitting bored in our college history courses.

Our lack of understanding of the fundamentals, the causes of events, the reasons for the outcomes of wars, the imbalances that cause empires to fail, and the origins of new conflicts, our callowness in decision making arises from the wellspring of our ignorance, all of this will cost us far more than we realize.

Simplistic assumptions and shallow analyses are no longer sufficient in a world that has long ceased to be bipolar.

In every unipolar case from human history, the origins of the decline of the dominant power were obvious, even at the time, to those who were willing to look outside their own point of view.

Can we overcome history?

My hope is we can.

My analysis, and my fear, is that we will repeat the history of decline of empire, in other words our decline, with surprising speed.

Do your own research.

Come to your own conclusions.

Then act upon them to stem the decline if you foresee what I do.

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