Beginning with the assertion that “war is inseparable from the human condition,” Victor Hanson proceeds to explain the ways in which the American way of war is distinctive. For one, “Americans are united…by shared ideas and commitments, such as the ideals of equal opportunity and individual merit….Our military functions…as a reflection of our national meritocracy.”

He further reflects that Americans today, unlike previous generations, fail to understand the tragic nature of war because they have never come to understand the tragic nature of life itself, and that we are endangered by our lack of attention to the study of military history. “If we walked right over to the campus bookstore or looked in the university’s catalog of classes, we would see gender studies … leisure studies, race studies, environmental studies. Military history? Not there.” (46:02) Video transcript

To go to segments within a video, click the links below:

• start video from beginning Victor Davis Hanson explains why war is inseparable from the human condition.
• start segment 2 at 6:44 Victor Davis Hanson describes the several ways in which the American way of war is distinctive.
• start segment 3 at 16:48 Victor Davis Hanson discusses error and war, including the errors made during the war in Iraq.
• start segment 4 at 23:56 Victor Davis Hanson talks about the study of war.
• start segment 5 at 32:22 Victor Davis Hanson offers some insight into his life as a war historian—and more.