Word: conquest
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...Imperial Rome, most notably -- managed to maintain a distinct national identity while embracing, and being ruled by, an ethnic melange. The most ethnically diverse contemporary power, the Soviet Union, is beset with secessionist demands and near tribal conflicts. But such comparisons are flawed, because those empires were launched by conquest and maintained through an aggressive military presence. The U.S. was created, and continues to be redefined, primarily by voluntary immigration. This process has been one of the country's great strengths, infusing it with talent and energy. The "browning of America" offers tremendous opportunity for capitalizing anew on the merits...
...successes sprang from and what its unalterable beliefs are. They will clash over which myths and icons to invoke in education, in popular culture, in ceremonial speechmaking from political campaigns to the State of the Union address. Which is the more admirable heroism: the courageous holdout by a few conquest-minded whites over Hispanics at the Alamo, or the anonymous expression of hope by millions who filed through Ellis Island? Was the subduing of the West a daring feat of bravery and ingenuity, or a wretched example of white imperialism? Symbols deeply meaningful to one group can be a matter...
...Mongol Empire forged by Genghis Khan in 1206 was one of the most astonishing creations in history. His cavalry pierced the Great Wall of China and overwhelmed the Chin Empire in what has been described as the conquest of 100 million people by 100,000 soldiers. It was Genghis Khan's grandson Batu who first swept into Russia. When Kiev resisted, Batu besieged the city in 1240, burned it to the ground and massacred all its inhabitants. "When we passed through that land," wrote Archbishop Plano Carpini, a papal legate bound for the new power center in Mongolia, "we found...
During the conquest of Canaan, cities were routinely destroyed under the principle of Herem, in which every person, every animal and every piece of property was annihilated. This practice was viewed in a noble light because it removed from the attackers' minds any temptation to collect spoils, thus permitting divine command to be their sole motivation. Nevertheless, Herem as a practice flies in the face of our notions of "just war" and is difficult to accept even if one views it as the word...
...real problem with such a brutal interpretation of Judaism is that it ignores the religion's own historical devotion to justice and righteousness. Torah study by day and territorial conquest by night is a scenario that no self-respecting Jew would want to see acted...