In 1899 Rudyard Kipling, the pre-eminent poet of British imperialism, addressed some stanzas to America. “Take up the white man’s burden,” he urged – “The savage wars of peace/ Fill full the mouth of famine/ And bid the sickness cease.” These days America has a black president and no public intellectual would dare to use the imperialist language of a Kipling. But the idea that the US bears a special burden in policing the world is very much alive. The notion was there in Barack Obama’s call for military action over Syria: “We are the United States,” declared the president – outlining his nation’s special role in creating and defending the post-1945 global order.
1899年大英帝国著名诗人鲁德亚德•吉卜林(Rudyard Kipling)给美国写下了几段诗。他写道：“挑起白人的负担。残暴的和平战争/填满饥荒之口/让疾病却步。”如今美国有一位黑人总统，没有哪位公共知识分子胆敢使用吉卜林的帝国主义语言。但认为美国承担着维持世界安全的特殊责任的观点仍生机勃勃。巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)呼吁对叙利亚采取军事行动时就暗含了这种思维，总统宣称：“我们是美国。”这勾勒出美国在打造并捍卫1945年后的manbetx app苹果 秩序中扮演的特殊角色。