Threats, then and now

It was 1950. America was trying to find its way in the world. Much of the debate before World War II was between the isolationists and the interventionists. After the war it was widely accepted that isolationism would not work, probably wisely so. A hollow echo of Chamberlain’s “Peace in our time” rang across the national consciousness, and nobody wanted to repeat those mistakes.

Almost naturally, after the war the world was divided into two distinct pieces, the communist east and the democratic west. The confrontation was predictable, being the two biggest players in the game, it was a given they would view each other as a threat.

However, on August 29^th 1949 the whole situation changed. That was the day the Soviets tested their first atomic device. Before that American hegemony in atomic weapons was seen almost as a magic shield. And the business of preparing for war began in earnest.

In the nation’s capital a junior senator from Wisconsin was trying to make a name for himself and Edmund Walsh suggested an anticommunist crusade. On February 9^th Joseph McCarthy claimed to have the names of 205 state department employees who were known members of the American Communist Party. The country exploded in apoplectic fury.

It was about this same time that the “domino theory” was born. It predicted, somewhat ridiculously, that the fall of a country to communist insurgents would lead to the irresistible collapse of all the neighboring countries.

In this climate it was obviously a very dangerous idea to be seen as being soft on communism.

France was stuck in a war in Indochina, and America became embroiled in combat on the Korean peninsula. Other wars of liberation were springing up in Bolivia, Cuba, and Malaysia. In most cases the insurgents were communists of convenience. It would have been difficult to get China and the Soviet Union to provide weapons and training spouting capitalist slogans and dogma.

In fact, Ho Chi Minh actually tried to petition President Wilson at the Versailles Peace Conference, with a proposal for Vietnamese independence. He was turned away. The Soviets were much more accommodating. So, communism, and the ready supply of arms won out.

Billions of dollars and thousands of lives were lost trying to save the world from the Communist threat. And it wasn’t so much of a threat after all.

It is 2016, almost 2017. And America is still trying to find the right place. New enemies have appeared. Now they invoke religion instead of politics. And there is a lot of talk about the “existential threat” they pose.

Patience is not a virtue mankind has in abundance, and the need to “do good” sometimes outweighs the hard learned lessons of history. It would be wise to consider alternatives that did not involve combat arms. Yes, the need to help is a sign of compassion, and caring, and should never be ignored. However, without understanding the nature of the problem it is easy to do more harm than good. There is a lot of truth to the old saying, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”     

Ancient Greece, a Road Map?

So far I have learned very little about the Messenian War, though it is still high on the list.  It is more the history of Ancient Greece that has grabbed and ensnared.  There is so much that is so amazing about Ancient Greece that it is almost impossible to focus on such a narrow topic.

Sparta itself, is a fascinating subject, with many intriguing aspects, not the least of which is the brutal repression of their neighbors, called "helots" by the Spartans, and fanatic devotion to military training.  Of course it makes the task of constant military training much more achievable if you have subjugated enough people.  Conversely, it makes the need to train constantly almost a necessity.  As Xenophon (an Athenian contemporary who knew the Spartans well) explained, "the Helots would gladly eat the Spartans raw."  When the people who produce your food and provide for your well being are so resentful and bitter it requires a certain amount of military preparation to ensure their continued "loyalty."

But, the whole history is fascinating.  From the rise of the Polis, to the advent of family owned farms the ancient Greeks were amazing.  It was a seminal, transformative, singularity.  Ingenious, industrious, and constantly evolving, they were a revolutionary force of unimaginable power with an almost infinite effect on the growth of humanity.  More than any other culture, Greece changed the story arc of history.

Plato is quoted as saying, "the Greeks never invented anything, but everything they borrowed they improved upon."  Since Plato was there, and Greek, he should know.  Even if this were the case, they improved on some things so dramatically that they became something completely new, an invention, and that is enough for me.

But, the history of Greece is a history of war.  They were not any worse than anybody else, before, or since.  In many ways, the history of Ancient Greece mirrors the history of man.  It is an abridged history of the human race, in a very small place.

Wars, alliances, treaties, shifting centers of power, allegiances formed, broken, intrigue, and rebellion.  It starts with the rise of Sparta, and pretty much ends Alexander the Great.  From one warrior to another, with a lot of warriors in between.

Just like human history the history of Greece is the tale of powerful states, deciding that the existence of the other was such a threat that war was inevitable, and once it had begun winning was the only option, no matter the cost.  Noted historian Donald Kagan, wrote "In peaceful and prosperous times both people and
nations behave reasonably because the tissue of material well-being and security that separates civilization from brutal savagery has not been torn away and people reduced to brutal necessity."*

It is the story of mankind, condensed into approximately 700 years, in an area about 51,000 square miles.  From one empire to the next, from one rapidly developing city state, to a super power in decline.  Sooner or later they all figure the results will be worth the cost, and occasionally they were.  Unless you happened to be the loser, or one of those sacrificed for victory, for them the stakes were a little different.

And, in all this time, the game really hasn't changed, nor have the motives.  They may seem more significant, but every war was justified, vital, absolutely essential, at the time.  And, they still are.  We haven't really learned much.

Next time we will look at one of the wars involving Ancient Greece.  Probably the Persian Wars, a time for Greek unity, a time for common ground, and cooperation.  But, when it was over, it was business as usual, and it could have been almost any where at almost any time.




*"The Peloponnesian War," page 117.

Ancient Greece, Sparta; Act 1 Our Journey Begins.

Ancient Greece left a legacy of achievement that would make any modern nation proud.   Democracy was born in Ancient Greece.  They pioneered jury trials and public literacy.  Critical analysis was an idea driven from this amazing time.   Philosophy, mathematics, drama, these all have roots in Ancient Greece.  It was ancient texts discovered and translated at the end of the middle ages that led to the explosion, and learning of the renaissance.  It was a glorious time, in some ways, for humanity.  But, it was still "humanity," and as normal, that meant trouble.

Sparta was a city without walls, which at that time was an oddity in Greece.  Walls provide protection, and cities had plenty of need for protection.  It really did not matter the relative wealth of a city, sooner or later another city would decide it should be theirs.  Of course, you needed an army, but you needed walls to intimidate potential invaders.  Not a very comforting thought for farmers, or traveling merchants, but such was life in those times.  Sparta felt it did not need walls to be intimidating, that being a bunch of Spartans (or Spartiates, which might be correct, but, if nobody minds, we will use Spartans) was probably enough.  They were wrong.  As were all of the cities that built walls, and over the next few posts we will see why.

Free Spartans were warriors, that was their job, their hobby, their life.  It was, they felt, their heritage, they were the offspring of Heracles, and that gave them some divine rights.  One of which was to subjugate their neighbors in Messinia.  These people became known as the Helots, and were forced into abject slavery at the hands of the Spartans.  

It is one of the oddities of history, without the Helots, who held a ten to one advantage over the Spartans, the ability to train, and nothing else from the age of seven, as a warrior would have been impossible.  It took the ten slaves to provide the labor to support a "Free Spartan" and allow the time it took for training.   Training that was needed to ruthlessly oppress the Helots, and allow the time needed for training.  

Often times this military prowess was used to aid Spartan allies.  Allies who occasionally helped Sparta crush Helot revolts.   In our next post we will learn about the First Messenian War, it's origins, it's tragedy, it's inevitability, and it's outcome.  Or at least as much as we can find.