a swashbuckler for those of us living through the death of empire

[thebiggest]

"Later, with time, I learned that although all men are capable of good and evil, the worst among them are those who, when they commit evei, do so by shielding themselves in the authority of others, in their subordination, or in the excuse of following orders. And even worse are those who believe they are justified by their God. Because in the

Comments

[sunpony]

I love this quote! I will have to put it up in my own journal.

Heh, I WISH we were living through the death of empire. I think there is more empire yet to come, unless there is some sudden popular uprising that changes the way the machine works.

empire and more empire

[thebiggest]

Indeed. I find that I agree with Negri and Hardt in this area, that empire itself is a symptom of decadence and decline or vice versa. Or at the very least, decline, corruption and empire are inextricable. And since there will most likely be more empire and, perhaps, worse empire to come, one must have to figure out how to live through it and discover what sort of honor, if any, is possible at all. Captain Alatriste, the weary soldier of an undeserving country for an undeserving king who persists despite his lack of illusions is one model. Perhaps we can think of another.