“For by art is created that great Leviathan called a Commonwealth, or State (in Latin, Civitas), which is but an artificial man, though of greater stature and strength than the natural, for whose protection and defence it was intended”.
The above quotation is, in part, an introductory passage from Thomas Hobbes’ magnum opus, The Leviathan or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. Throughout this work, Hobbes labors to define the relationship between the people and government. Thus, he added significantly to the foundation of Social Contract theory and those proponents who would later follow.
Following September 11, the Bush Administration took a purely Hobbesian view of the Social Contract theory, impressing upon the citizenry the mortal importance of quashing internal and external threats at all costs. Awestruck by the immensity of this event, the citizenry relinquished their already fading vigilance in hopes of recapturing homeland peace.
On October 26 of that same year, the PATRIOT Act or Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 arrived. In addition, the FISA [or Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act] of 1978 was presented as an argument for a free-reign government wherein non-sanctioned surveillance should be conducted. Rule of law determined that previous acts of surveillance fell outside the scope of FISA, so the government responded by passing certain amendments.
Some historians theorize that warfare of the 20th century had a singular cause. Thus, these collective epochal conflicts fell under the nom de plume, the Long War. Like earlier epochal wars, 20th century warfare was fought over a fundamental constitutional question: which sort of nation-state (communist, fascist or parliamentary) would lay claim to the legitimacy previously enjoyed by the imperial nation-state of the nineteenth century (Bobbit, 2002:19).
As the 20th century progressed, time and key victories ostensibly declared parliamentarianism as the ideological victor.
It did not take long, however, for leaders of our global community to discover a new reason for which to eradicate one another.
Washington, DC-Following 9/11, President Bush declared, during the 2002 State of the Union address, that Iran is a member of the “Axis of Evil”. Since that time, a case for war has been prepared.
On January 11, 2006, the Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte announced the creation of the “Iran Mission Manager” and subsequent appointment Ms. S. Leslie Ireland to this new position.
On the evening of January 17, 1961, President Dwight David Eisenhower concluded his term with a historical farewell address to the nation. In that address, Eisenhower made reference to a concept known as the Military Industrial Complex and its “grave consequences”, warning the American people to be vigilant in this regard.
In short, the Military Industrial Complex is a triangular construct which exercises undue influence within foreign policy. The three components of this construct include the military, corporate entities and the government.
Arguably, a case can be made that the symbolic conception of the Military Industrial Complex occurred during a fateful week in August 1945 when the United States of America became the first and only nation thus far to utilize atomic armaments in warfare. President Truman’s decision to utilize the bomb in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not the only option of ending our conflict with Imperialist Japan, but was the one option wherein we could make a clear and concise statement about our strength as a Super Power.
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will convene on January 9th. The topic of this committee session will be to ensure the full implementation of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
The Commission, convened by an Act of Congress in late 2002, issued a public release of its full report on July 22, 2004. This report offered both findings and recommendations to prevent future attacks. In December of that same year, these recommendations were enacted into law along with a myriad of other reforms included within the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act [of 2004], or IRTPA.
In 1883, the term “Eugenics” was coined by Sir Francis Galton in his book Essays in Eugenics. Eugenics being defined as the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits.
Americans embraced the eugenics movement by passing laws to prevent people with disabilities from moving to the U.S., marrying or having children. Eugenics laws led to the institutionalization and forced sterilization of disabled adults and children.
In 1927, the case of Buck v. Bell arrived at the United States Supreme Court. The following excerpt was taken from the Supreme Court ruling submitted on May 2, 1927: