« The effect of war on global perspectives | Main | "They should be nice to us" »
August 28, 2006
Is America a uniquely virtuous nation?
We just received a thoughtful comment from the historian Howard Zinn on our forthcoming Global Perspectives on the United States. Browsing for information about his many "People's Histories," I came across an article that readers of this website will find interesting, and full of some of the detail we want to see more of. From Professor Zinn's article, "America’s Blinders":
The deeply ingrained belief-—no, not from birth but from the educational system and from our culture in general-that the United States is an especially virtuous nation makes us especially vulnerable to government deception. It starts early, in the first grade, when we are compelled to “pledge allegiance” (before we even know what that means), forced to proclaim that we are a nation with “liberty and justice for all.”
And then come the countless ceremonies, whether at the ballpark or elsewhere, where we are expected to stand and bow our heads during the singing of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” announcing that we are “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” There is also the unofficial national anthem “God Bless America,” and you are looked on with suspicion if you ask why we would expect God to single out this one nation—-just 5 percent of the world’s population-—for his or her blessing.
If your starting point for evaluating the world around you is the firm belief that this nation is somehow endowed by Providence with unique qualities that make it morally superior to every other nation on Earth, then you are not likely to question the President when he says we are sending our troops here or there, or bombing this or that, in order to spread our values-—democracy, liberty, and let’s not forget free enterprise-—to some God-forsaken (literally) place in the world. It becomes necessary then, if we are going to protect ourselves and our fellow citizens against policies that will be disastrous not only for other people but for Americans too, that we face some facts that disturb the idea of a uniquely virtuous nation.
Posted by Karen Christensen at August 28, 2006 1:12 AM
Comments
America is not a person; it is a legal fiction. It has no soul, no heart, no brain. It is not a living thing; therefore it cannot be virtuous or unvirtuous. Only people can be virtuous. Are you asking are American leaders more virtuous? Well, to answer that question one should perhaps look to the past. The founding fathers designed a system of government under the assumption that virtue (especially among politicians) is a rare thing indeed. And therein, lies the answer to your question. America is no more nor less virtuous then the next country. If there is virtue to be found in America then it is in the fact that the system of government was designed with the assumption that politicians are not always virtuous. The system is designed to insure that the ambitions of both the virtuous and unvirtuous are kept in check.
People who claim that America is unique because of its virtue do not understand the meaning of the American project. Claiming a God-given virtue is not only wrong-headed it is fundamentally at odds with the principles of the American Republic.
Posted by: MarkD at August 28, 2006 11:29 PM