2. In the piece, @GenMhayden talks about how he was focused on Bosnia and the Balkans in the 1990s. FWIW, so was I, studying, living in, covering, and doing graduate work on the region. I never could have written the American Nations trilogy otherwise.
3. The threats to our republic and federation are real and the hour is late. I discussed some of what needs to be done in this Union-driven Washington @monthly piece, written just before Jan. 6. washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/janua…
4. There's also a 10th anniversary edition of #AmericanNations in the pipeline, with a new afterword on recent events. Should start hitting stores after New Years'. Talked with @The_DailyBeast about the themes recently (an interview Hayden quotes from): thedailybeast.com/he-saw-america…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
(Thread) The US pandemic response is tragically playing out along the regional lines identified in #AmericanNations, with the regions with traditions emphasizing individual liberty failing. Here’s the data via @pressherald: pressherald.com/2020/07/05/how…
2. The regional cultures differ on how they view the ideal society, one that emphasizes lack of restraints on individuals or, instead, maintaining a free community, a shared communitarian project to cultivate a republican citizenry. Details in this book: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317207/a…
3. With Trump unwilling to lead, we’ve seen a patchwork response, with individualistic regions late to lockdown, early to reopen, and resistant to mask wearing; and the “communitarian” ones taking expert public health advice more seriously.