In his marvelous account, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer notes how in 1942 Hitler had stretched his frontiers so wide in Russia that he simply could not defend them anymore. Ignoring Field General Franz Halder’s advice, the Fuhrer dismissed him saying, "We need National Socialist ardor now, not professional ability. I cannot expect this of an officer of the old school such as you." Halder later described the Furhrer as "no longer a responsible warlord, but a political fanatic." The more Hitler’s vision of the Thousand Year Reich took over, the more he sought to enslave the world in his boundaries.

Yet, boundaries do have their place. Every day I drive along wide, round curves with well-defined lanes on my way to the church. Just the other morning, I spied a red Ca…