The Middle East (11th ed.)

It is true, I know, that racial generalisations are invariably unjust and inaccurate. It does seem to me, however, that many Americans have a curious concept of themselves as being loveable. Other imperialists have not felt the same way. The ancient Romans thought that they were feared and respected for their imposition of law and justice. The nineteenth‐century British imperialists thought that they were the ancient Romans. Alexander thought the Greeks were culturally superior. The Nazis had a self‐image of being brutal and oppressive. Only the Americans think of themselves as being loveable old boys. Much of recent history, and...