"If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe, Such boastings as the Gentiles use, Or lesser breeds without the Law- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget-lest we forget! Naked imperialism is an ugly thing, and that contemptuous phrase, "lesser breeds without the Law," unsettles any contemporary reader of "Recessional.""
"The American president has admitted that he has an addictive personality, which is why, to his credit, he is a teetotaler. But he and his aides are undoubtedly intoxicated with military power. "This was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American-military might and competence in American history," he said at the press conference following the seizure of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. "No other country on planet Earth, and it's not even close, could pull this kind of"
A 1897 jubilee celebration coincided with a warning that triumphalist imperialism risks moral and political ruin. A subsequent brutal South African war exposed imperial vulnerability and shaken confidence. A contemptuous phrase—"lesser breeds without the Law"—exposed the ugliness of naked imperialism while also signaling a belief that power used solely for ruthless self-interest is transitory, foolish, dangerous, and impious. George Orwell read the phrase as aimed at rival powers and saw the work as a denunciation of power politics. Contemporary leaders display intoxication with military might and boast of unmatched displays of force.
Read at The Atlantic
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