conquer this!

It started innocently enough. I was perusing through a newsstand copy of U.S. News and World Report's spanky collector's edition ''Untold Tales of the Great Conquerors''. If ever there were a kitschy mag, this was it, folks. But, there was only curiosity and zero cynicism on my part as I flipped through the pages and soon realized I had somehow managed to have never studied world history---and the only great historical facts I knew came from whatever I happened upon during my travels, boosted by scenes from Hollywood epics, and a few settings in novels.

So I started reading the mag.

History-light, the magazine reads of tales and triumphs of some of the biggest, baddest conquerors known to us, starting with Alexander the Great and ending 87 pages later with a demi-piece on the American empire (an unfortunately opinioned endbit of noxious patriotism and Bush-banter thrown directly at the magazine's conservative U.S. buyers, in what is otherwise delightful reading).

Overall, reading this magazine was definitely better than sitting through 20 lengthy lectures and a final exam. And, after five articles of slayings, revolts and attacks, I began to think.

We would like to believe, in the twenty-first century, that we are far away from such primitive times; when armies slaughtered their enemies in ruthless, indiscriminate fashion to achieve their missions, and made use of frightful examples to propel their campaigns. Yet, however we may wish in our moral souls, the dark heart of man remains the same after all these centuries. Sure, modern military methods and technologies are more efficient in terms of conserving manpower, producing fewer casualties, while exacting greater effectiveness. And, treaties and sanctions carry heavier weight in a world economy. But, quests for power, land, and resources remain at the top of many leaders' "to-do" lists---even those who are democratically elected. Genocides, assassinations, prisoner torture, and terrorist acts are still very much part of our societies (Rwanda, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, 9/11, Iraq, just to site a few). There are still showy decapitations, mass executions and systemic rapes. All because the human body still bleeds the way it has always bled.

The historical battles detailed in this magazine and in history books may seem archaic at first glance. But, look again. The story changes, but the song remains the same.