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The U.S. has become a de facto one-party state, with the legislative branch permanently controlled by an incumbent's party and every president exploiting his role as Commander-in-Chief to expand on the imperial prerogatives of his office.

— Andrew Bacevich The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008)

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More quotes by Andrew Bacevich

In this way, the bravery of the warrior underwrites collective civic cowardice, while fostering a slack, insipid patriotism.

Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country (2013)

We are squandering our wealth in many respects, to the extent that we persist in our imperial delusions, we're also going to squander our freedom.

In war-as-spectacle, appearances could be more important than reality, because appearance often ended up determining reality.

The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005)

The way a nation wages war — the role allotted to the people in defending the country and the purposes for which it fights — testifies to the actual character of its political system.

Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country (2013)

For the majority of contemporary Americans, the essence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness centers on a relentless personal quest to acquire, to consume, to indulge, and to shed whatever constraints might interfere with those endeavors.

The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Andrew Bacevich (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.