The U.S. - the idea that the U.S. has introduced and imposed principles of international law, that's hardly even a joke. The United States has even gone so far as to veto Security Council resolutions calling on all states to observe international law. That was in the 1980s under Reagan.

There’s no more morality in world affairs, fundamentally, than there was at the time of Genghis Khan.

One substitute for the disappearing Evil Empire (The Soviet Union) has been the threat of drug traffickers from Latin America. In early September 1989, a major government-media blitz was launched by the President. That month the AP wires carried more stories about drugs than about Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa combined. If you looked at television, every news program had a big section on how drugs were destroying our society, becoming the greatest threat to our existence, etc.

Ontological questions are generally beside the point, hardly more than a form of harassment.

As elite attitudes towards public education over time illustrate, simple formulas are far from adequate. There are conflicting tendencies.

The US is off the spectrum in religious commitment. It's been increasing since 1980 but it's a major part of the voting base of the Republican Party so that means committing to anti-abortion positions, opposing women's rights.

It is a virtual reflex for governments to plead security concerns when they undertake any controversial action, often as a pretext for something else.