A bit ponderous for a new blog that has nothing under its belt but a cute name, but all things begin somewhere, and for us here at All Alone in the Night, it begins here.
It would be convenient that we stand at the dawn of a new age, an age revealed to us by the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001. But such a claim would not stand serious analysis. Humanity has been killing each other since Cain decided to discuss parental favoritism with Abel using a club. September 11th may have been a particularly spectacular event, but it was not the dawn of some new age.
Perhaps, then, it is twilight? Earth's 20th century was the American century. Is it time for the torch to be passed? Certainly the United States has lost some of what made it special in the 20th century, although in truth it has been in decline since the guns fell silent at the end of World War II, for its position at that time was so far in advance of the rest of the world that it could never be maintained. Conversely, the United States is still considered by many to be a hyperpuissance, the sole superpower, although it's difficult to argue that reputation can hold for long as America's war in Iraq grinds to a bloody conclusion, Iran prepares to join the family of nuclear powers, and American soft power is at something of a nadir.
But the world is too dynamic to use a twilight metaphor. If it is twilight for America, surely it is dawn elsewhere on the globe. China and India are taking a greater place on the world stage, as befits their position as residences of some 37% of the world's population. Europe is not prepared to give up its place as one of the centers of world power. The world is changing into a new configuration. Will it maintain its Westfalian character with nation-states predominating, or will transnational actors like al Qaeda and major corporations take greater prominence? Will the rise of many nations with nuclear powers return us to a Cold War, or Europe circa 1914, where all that was needed was a spark? Will ecological problems like global warming force nations to band more closely together? Or, more likely, will the world of the 21st century be so different we are unlikely to predict where it will all end up?
We make no such predictions as yet. Our goals, as noted on our sidebar, are more prosaic. First, like many people, we enjoy discussing such topics as current events and politics, and blogging has clearly become a popular method for doing so. Second, we hope to attract like-minded commenters who are interested in discussing these issues, preferably without any virtual bloodshed. Monologues have their place, but learning rarely takes place without discussion. And as we note above, understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, my side, and the truth...