In November/December 2023, World BEYOND War will be holding a weekly discussion each of four weeks of THE COST OF LOYALTY: DISHONESTY, HUBRIS, AND FAILURE IN THE U.S. MILITARY with
the author Tim Bakken as part of a small group WBW book club limited to
a group of 18 participants. The author is a professor at the U.S.
military's academy at West Point.
WBW will send each participant a kindle or audio or hardcover
copy of the book (your choice). We'll let you know which parts of the book will be
discussed each week along with the Zoom details to access the
discussions.
Learn more and reserve your spot here.
When: For one hour on four
Wednesdays, November 29, and December 6, 13, and 20, 2023 at 19:00 UTC,
which is 9 a.m. in Honolulu, 11 a.m. in Los Angeles, 1 p.m. in Mexico
City, 2 p.m. in New York, 8 p.m. in Yaoundé, 8 p.m. in Berlin, and
Thursday at 8 a.m. in Auckland.
Where: Zoom (details to be shared upon registration)
This
is a small group series with limited space of up to 18 people. Sign up
to reserve your spot and allow for enough time to receive the book. We
look forward to reading and discussing this important book with you!
About the Book:
Most
World BEYOND War book clubs are hosted by peace activists or at least
by people not employed by a military. But here is a chance to discuss
all kinds of agreements and disagreements with an author from West
Point. You may be surprised by some of the agreements! Here is how Kirkus Reviews describes the book:
"West
Point professor deconstructs the many failures of America’s most
beloved institution: the armed forces. Bakken—the first civilian
hired to teach law at West Point who was also a whistleblower and won a
retaliation case against the U.S. military—delivers an angry polemic,
arguing that America’s military is commanded by men of limited
intelligence but self-serving loyalty to their institution. This didn’t
matter before World War II, when peacetime forces were tiny and
neglected. Since 1945, however, they have swollen massively, dominating
civil society and operating free of constitutional restraints thanks to
several Supreme Court decisions and fawning civilian leaders. Fervently
admired—approval in polls never drops below 70%—the military has
attained untouchable status from its commander in chief. Every president
after Dwight Eisenhower has proclaimed unqualified esteem, and
Congress, which last declared war in 1942, has surrendered its
authority. Yet despite performing with spectacular incompetence in most
wars since WWII, no general has been fired. Bakken places much blame on
the service academies (West Point et al.), mediocre institutions awash
in money whose draconian discipline and teaching methods date from their
founding. Most instructors are junior officers with no specialty in
their subject who rotate through for a few years, following a rigid
syllabus from which they cannot deviate. Readers may pause in their
fuming to recall that brilliant people rarely choose a career in the
military—or law enforcement. Rather, members of the military join for
the action and value courage and loyalty above all. They consider
themselves a band of brothers, indispensable defenders of the nation,
most of whose effete citizens lack their selfless dedication. Warriors
have always believed this, which is a mostly harmless situation unless
they are calling the shots, which the author states is happening—and
they are making a mess of it.
"A provocative, disturbing
argument that a democracy is in trouble when it venerates the military
unconditionally."
Learn more and reserve your spot here.
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