The American empire will not disappear... because America does not have an empire.

Football is controlled violence, but it is violence, which people have loved to watch since the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome.

American power confers benefits on most inhabitants of the planet, even on many who dislike it and some who actively oppose it, because the United States plays a major, constructive, and historically unprecedented role in the world.

The United States contributes to peace in both by serving as a buffer between and among regional powers that, while not preparing for armed conflict, do not fully trust one another.

The main division in the world is between democratic and undemocratic countries.

Societies raise their grandest monuments to what their cultures value most highly. As the tallest buildings in a city noted for tall buildings, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were certainly monumental.

The windfall of great riches can, if mismanaged, make things worse, not better, for the recipients.