Essay talk:AD's heroes

Something I just read...

"[Western civilization:] at best it's a misnomer; at worst, and more correctly, it's a damn lie. Western 'civilization' has been, as a matter of fact, most barbaric. We are told that Western civilization begins with the Greeks, and the epitome of that civilization is Alexander the Great. The only thing I remember about Alexander the Great was that at age twenty-six he wept because there were no more people to murder and rob. That is the epitome of Western civilization." -- Stokely Carmichael, "The Dialectics of Liberation," Congress on the Dialectics of Liberation, London, 18 July, 1967. Theory of Practice "I never set out to hit anybody. It's just that a lot of people got hit." -- Andy Roberts 03:22, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Interesting, though I can't think of any time I've ever heard Alexander called the epitome of Western civilization.--^talk 11:39, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I think what Stokely was getting at is that Greek culture, while credited with all these great things, was, at its heart, imperialistic and violent; as much as Western civilization can trace positive elements to the Greeks, it can also trace its horrific elements to the Greeks as well. Theory of Practice "I never set out to hit anybody. It's just that a lot of people got hit." -- Andy Roberts 12:20, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't think the entry on here is really praising him for being particularly non-barbaric and civilised. At a time when leaders wear suits, sit behind desks and wield nothing but a pen to send countless men and women to their deaths, the idea of Alexander the Great leading charges is something very worth pondering. ^gnostic 11:48, 17 May 2012 (UTC)