Will we be the generation to see the beginning of the end of empire?

Misplaced faith in the power of military might and centralized bureaucracies to "make things right" or "bring freedom," or to foster "democracy" and "economic fulfillment" is a disorder that afflicts many Americans. It is for this reason that we are indeed happy to rearrange deck chairs in our foreign policy, enjoying the entertainment provided by doomed musicians like Stoker. We avoid the gaze and the wisdom of those who understand the design limitations of force, of centralized, authoritarian, and expensive governments –at home, or in foreign countries we covet.

— Karen Kwiatkowski, "Deck Chairs on the Titanic?" [February 6, 2007