The Constitution and the Soldier
Every member of the US Armed Forces takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But as the Annenberg survey (Annenberg 2024, Annenberg 2023 ) reports, many Americans have…
The Warrior Ethos: Part 2, Culture
Recall from part 1, Mirriam-webster defines Ethos as: “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution”. Ethos is a manifestation of the cultural matrix from which it emerges. As the core culture changes,…
The Warrior Ethos: Part 1 Introduction
When a friend asked me to write a series on restoring the Warrior Ethos to the military, I started pondering a series of questions: What is a “warrior ethos”? How do we know it is missing and needs to…
Culture and Strategy: A Match not a Competition
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – various, possibly Peter Drucker. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of…
Comparative Politics and Political Change: what Works and Why?
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” Bejamin Franklin. When I was in graduate school, I took a course on comparative political systems. The course readings seemed to favor the parliamentary system, and I took a bit of an…
Coexist Part 4: Hamas case Study
This part four of the Coexist series. It explores the Hamas case study introduced in Part 1. It builds on the analysis in Part 2 and Part 3. Why do so many of the social justice groups that seem to…
Part 5—Does Culture Matter?
Abstract: Culture matters and may be the best predictor of success. Yet it is a third rail to discuss social cultures. This attitude hinders effective solutions to America’s problems. All people are the same. It is only their habits that…
Part 3—Controlling the Narrative and Cultural Hegemony
Abstract: Cultural Hegemony is a way to control the narrative on social issues and obscure their meaning. The flip side of renaming an object (see part 2 of this series) is to control the narrative to prevent others from reasserting…
Part 4—Mining for Controlling Labels
Abstract: Political and social engineering groups use labels to hide their intent and to suppress counter narratives. Mining for new labels is the new gold in reverse cultural hegemony. Now this is not that new in America. Americans have a…
Part 2—What is in a Name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo and Juliet Act 2, Scene 2. William Shakespeare Abstract: Names matter. They shape how we deal with people, objects, and concepts. People…
