Divine Plagiarism

So in one of the continuing ironies of this story, I find myself in the course of personal and professional studies learning about both Cultural Anthropology and Latin America. This was unexpected. In a way a comic irony… one of the things I had said in the last less than pleasant parting was that ‘it will be as if we had no past, only lessons learned… after all, what commonality could there be between [what I do] and [what she does.]’ It seems, as usual, that things did not turn out as I expected. In the course of doing what I do, I have had more classes in her area of expertise than while I was in grad school. And in the course of doing what she is doing, she ends up studying a place where my area of expertise is of critical concern. That didn’t quite go the way I thought. I was partially right, though. That it would be as if we had no past. Everything that needed to be said was said. The prayer is that we meet again for the first time. And two people meeting for the first time have no past. I am enjoying my studies, though. I do wish that she and I could have been reconciled before this executive course. I think she would have enjoyed it as well.

The class is fascinating. Brilliant lecture by Prof. Miguel Angel Centeno of Princeton. Would discuss, but non-attribution and all. His book, however, is not non-attribution. Blood and Debt: War and Statemaking in Latin America is an intriguing view on national identities and historical narratives. Open Source Papers are also not non-attribution. And this one is pretty good. And encouraging… that even old rivalries can be forgotten, at least for a while…

The Origins of Security Cooperation in the Southern Cone
Joao Resende-Santos
Latin American Politics and Society, Vol. 44, No. 4, (Winter, 2002), pp. 89-126.

Another admittedly simplistic point. As simple (and over-simple) an answer it is to blame American intervention for the problems of Latin America, consider El Salvador. The Salvadorian government prevailed in their civil war not because the United States provided better weapons, but because the United States advisors pushed the Salvadorian military to follow the traditional laws of armed conflict. With a decrease in human rights abuses, the insurgency lost much of its momentum. Also consider that once someone is provided with training, they retain their free will. Reference News Clip about the Zetas. Remember that we as humanity veered from our advertised purpose as well.

In another certain irony, the American political party which has traditionally championed democracy over dictatorship finds itself having to advocate against democracy in its fervor to oppose every policy of the current administration. I find this especially humorous, given that I respect the current administration. Especially his very unpublicized policies dramatically increasing aid to Sub-Saharan Africa, and doing it in ways that no longer resemble patronizing colonial guilt. But that is a topic for another time…