ABSTRACT
The glory game is seductive, and many national leaders are mobilizing their people for glorious causes. European nations spent centuries playing the game of chicken, in pursuit of glory that would divert ordinary people from the grinds of daily life and their lack of power, while also draping them with the trappings of world power. World War I was a disaster fought for pure glory, among colonial empires that wanted a bigger share of imperial spoils. Germany became a leading architect of a post-glory European order and the German public has undergone a deep atonement. Glory is embedded in Western civilization and the US is its main champion. If history is any lesson, the Left – led by human rights advocacy tied to progressives in the Democratic Party – will have to champion this movement.
