Tues. May 4

I've heard the case made that America, starting with WWII, is a country that's permanently at war, sometimes obviously, sometimes subtly, but it's the engine that constantly whirs along no matter what else is happening. I'm inclined to believe this. Sometimes, there's a "justifiable" component and sometimes it seems we're just out there building empire - even as Rome crumbles from within. Have we always been like that? The then-New York Times reporter Judith Miller - wittingly or not - gave credence to our little Iraq adventure promoting the Bush White House line of WMDs, hidden away but veriviable. And the New York Times is not exactly a paper the war-mongering right considers to be credible. Nope, their credibility rests with FOX news and loons like Hannity, Beck and O'Reilly.

But enough about the post 9/11 years. Let's turn the clock back a bit. Evan Thomas, Newsweek scribe, will be going back to the turn of the 19th century Tuesday May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Boston Atheneum to present a talk called "The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898."

Remember the Maine? On February 15, 1898, the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. Although there was no evidence that the Spanish were responsible, newspapers such as William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal whipped Americans into a frenzy by claiming that Spain’s “secret infernal machine” had destroyed the battleship. Soon after, President McKinley declared war, sending troops not only to Cuba but also to the Philippines, Spain’s sprawling colony on the other side of the world. Thomas will explore the journey of six men at the center of a transforming event in American History.  
Admission is $10. Reservations are required, and will be taken starting April 21, 2010.
 
10 ½ Beacon St. on Beacon Hill near the State House, 617-227-0270 www.bostonathenaeum.org