A reader writes:
For unrelated reasons to the current Syria debate, I’m reading Reinhold Niebuhr’s The Irony of American History – a profound work recently reissued with a new intro by Andrew Bacevich (another hero of mine and no friend of intervention). Niebuhr:
The illusions about the possibility of managing historical destiny from any particular standpoint in history, always involves … miscalculations about both the power and the wisdom of the managers and of the weakness and the manageability of the historical ‘stuff’ which is to be managed.
It’s no accident, perhaps, that I’ve recited another Niebuhr quote about 1000 times as I’ve contemplated my stance on Syria:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Update from a reader:
From the Amazon page of the book your reader linked to:
[Niebuhr] is one of my favorite philosophers. I take away [from his works] the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away … the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard.
(Barack Obama, New York Times)
The Dish 