Happy Independence Day, USA! As the US remains in Afghanistan, Iraq and
elsewhere fighting insurgents, it shouldn't forget it too started as
an insurgency. See the second half of the Declaration of Independence for a list of US grievances against the English
oppressors.
Our love for opera does not abate on Independence Day. From Puccini with love.
The musical Condottiero is back! I took some time off to get a PhD in
international relations in London and then to Washington DC, where I am a
professor at the National Defence University. A few other things happened along
the way too.
I love professing. My students are senior military and civilian
leaders from the US and other countries, and I teach strategy, political theory
and international relations. In short,
war. Blissful times.
Every lecture I open with relevant opera or
classical music, be it the political philosophy of Plato, teachings of ibn Taymiyya,
strategy of Clausewitz, or writings of Mao. A good military education should be musical.
For example, let’s take today: July 4th. The writers of the Declaration of Independence
were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment, especially John Locke’s political
philosophy that justified removing a king’s crown (and head) from his body.
So in the saucy style of the Condottiero,
let’s play the traditional English Coronation anthem, Handel’s Zadok the Priest.
On what the US stands for, who can forget
Lenny Bernstein’s “America” from West Side Story.
