By Paul Silverstone | 26 January 2026
Church and State
It was just 100 years since the Congress of Vienna to the start of World War I. It is now getting close to the same from the end of World War II to the present. After 100 years of general peace it seems too many people miss the excitement of war and blind patriotism. Each 100 year period had its wars, generally localized, not the world at war of I and II. The public got comfortable at the advances made during their lifetimes and remembered the horrors of real war. Now once again, those who lived during the real wars have mostly passed away, and public memory does not remember. This is partly due to poor education. This is a tragedy for the world.
When George Orwell wrote ‘1984′ what his purpose was. Not a forecast but a warning. Certain irresponsible leaders around the world now see it as a forecast and are moving towards making it come true. We have Putin and Xi and Trump likes what he sees, as he tries to divide the world into the three autocracies of the book.
76 years ago today, "1984" was published by George Orwell. Haven't read it? No worries. You're already cast in the live-action adaptation of the book.
Orwell imagined it, Palantir made it a reality. 👁️ pic.twitter.com/3AWAqJJOU3
— Jason Bassler (@JasonBassler1) June 8, 2025
There are very few people like me who lived through the war daily, even though too young to be actually involved. Remember how the crowds in capitals cheered the start of war in 1914, never realizing what a horror and disaster they were cheering. Now there are right-wing parties in major countries who emulate the 1914 crowds rejecting world cooperation and boosting their own countries to the disasters of “America First” and the like. They look back fondly at the sentiments of Stephen Decatur, “My country, right or wrong, but my country!”
But the changes and discoveries made since 1945 are real, and disconcerting. They reject the reality of global warming despite the evidence around them. They reject the ideas that people with different backgrounds and ethnicities can live and must learn to live together. They reject the thoughts and conclusions of the eminent thinkers of our day, together with the new weapons of war their ideas can be dangerous to our world. Their nostalgia for a time lost in the past cannot sustain the realities of the future. We now know that the universe will not miss our world if it disappears.
Paul Silverstone is the author of several books on naval vessels including a five-volume series covering all US warships from 1775 to 2007. His latest book “The Navy of the 21st Century” was published in 2024. He is a graduate of Yale University (BA 1953) where he majored in political science and international relations, and Harvard Law School (JD 1956) and for many years was in the travel business in New York City. In 2020 he moved from New York to Vancouver, Canada.
He does genealogical research on his extended family with particular emphasis on families from the United States, Canada, Poland and Ukraine. Paul was a member of the Executive Council of the New York Jewish Genealogical Society from 1996 to 2020 and was Treasurer from 2000 to 2007. He was the treasurer and board member of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) from 2009 to 2015.
"The Navy of the 21st Century, 2001-2022 (The U.S. Navy Warship Series)" by Paul Silverstone.https://t.co/cf8GEMBjhF
— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) September 10, 2025
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