I commented on Austin, who wrote about paintings and it's further meaning in modern society, this is what I wrote: Austin, this is incredible insight. What struck me most was this idea of potential. This idea of changing or interpreting something as greater than it seemingly may be. In this case, Beever's transformation of a simple sidewalk. I believe that you drew an amazing parallel to all of our capabilities- and the the idea that we can do whatever our mind believes we are capable. This reminds me of Descartes who said, " I think, therefore I am" and that the "judge" was your mind. Therefore, one's capabilities are only limited by your thoughts, and everyone is a canvas of potential- now whether you choose to be painted upon, is only up to you.
Ben was analyzing our presence and it's effects in Afghanistan- and the benefits withing hard power and soft power. This is what I commented:
Ben,your points are an amazing analysis and your blog really epitomizes an active thought process- looking into the effectual reactions to our nation's action. Although I believe that you've fallen into the trap of an either or fallacy. Why can't the U.S sustain hard and soft power- overall hegemony- through an action. Let me explain,
withdrawal may solve for both hard and soft power.
a) it may "soften up our enemies"- the provocations and tensions that our troops cause are immense- taken in a recent study- the main drive of terrorists are to drive out U.S troops in their "home land", which means withdrawal can set them up for appeasement
b) withdrawal could solve for our overall perception of hard line deterrence. Many would argue that our troops in Afghanistan are the root cause of overstretch- with the constant deployment and the vast area of the region- we're often spread out and this kills our "hard line policy". It's that we're trying in these countries, and we're failing, and it sends off a perception that the U.S is no longer the #1 global hegemone anymore. Withdrawal would thus be net better than the status quo, because not only would we solve for this perception because our presence is no longer there, we would be able to sustain troops better in other areas and thus increase our hard line policies there.
