The Gears of History

On the train today I started reading over this guy's shoulder. He was reading a really long article from the Times called The Politics of God. It's really interesting, and while I haven't finished it, it got me thinking about a lot of things. But first, here's a quote:

At first, this modern political theology expressed a seemingly enlightened outlook and was welcomed by those who wished liberal democracy well. But in the aftermath of the First World War it took an apocalyptic turn, and “new men” eager to embrace the future began generating theological justifications for the most repugnant — and godless — ideologies of the age, Nazism and Communism.

Yeah, good stuff. He talks about how we have a different view as Westerners and I started thinking about Manifest Destiny, the idea during the 1800s that it was our God-given duty as white Americans to conquer the Western US and convert the heathens within. It seems similar to the rhetoric we hear from Iran or Al Qaeda.
I also started thinking about a really great book I've only listened to a bit, Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. He takes a panoramic look at history and anthropology to try and discover why Europe overtook the rest of the world while Africa rots. He's insightful enough to inspect all the science and possibilities for why we are where we are. It's a great book. And I'll read it soon.

This had nothing to do with me, except for the part where I read over someone's shoulder on the train, which is actually quite rude.