In April 1917 the illusion of isolation was destroyed, America came to the end of innocence, and of the exuberant freedom of bachelor independence. That the responsibilities of world power have not made us happier is no surprise. To help ourselves manage them, we have replaced the illusion of isolation with a new illusion of omnipotence.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on America's loss of innocence and the burdens of power that replace isolation.
Barbara Tuchman's quote illustrates the profound transformation that America underwent during World War I, as the nation moved from a state of isolation to one of global responsibility. The phrase 'end of innocence' signifies that with newfound power came difficult obligations and a realization that being a world leader does not guarantee happiness or fulfillment. Tuchman suggests that rather than facing these responsibilities with realism, society has built a false sense of omnipotence to cope with the weight of its role in the world.
In practice
In a discussion about the United States' role in global politics, one might quote Tuchman to highlight the challenges of power.
In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.
When every autumn people said it could not last through the winter, and when every spring there was still no end in sight, only the hope that out of it all some good would accrue to mankind kept men and nations fighting. When at last it was over, the war had many diverse results and one dominant one transcending all others: disillusion.
One constant among the elements of 1914—as of any era—was the disposition of everyone on all sides not to prepare for the harder alternative, not to act upon what they suspected to be true.
Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence. It is no fun to write lumpishly, dully, in prose the reader must plod through like wet sand. But it is a pleasure to achieve, if one can, a clear running prose that is simple yet full of surprises. This does not just happen. It requires skill, hard work, a good ear, and continued practice.
The unrecorded past is none other than our old friend, the tree in the primeval forest which fell without being heard
Theology being the work of males, original sin was traced to the female.
Climbing is not a competition, and you cannot talk in terms of 'greatest,' it means nothing.
The first question we would ask if aliens landed on this planet is not, 'What does this mean for the economy or jobs?' It would be, 'Are they friendly or unfriendly?'
To know that nothing happens in God's world apart from God's will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.
...I sense that stepping into the light is also a powerful metaphor for consciousness, for the birth of the knowing mind, for the simple and yet momentous coming of the sense of self into the world of the mental.
Tis not what man Does which exalts him, but what man Would do!
Death is contagious; it is contracted the moment we are conceived.
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