Friday, January 17, 2014

Israeli and American Exceptionalism in Times of Crisis

I went to Mass this evening and the Reading from the Old Testament was First Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22. Now, bear with me. I'm not going to preach at you - this is a political story. So, let's start with the reading from the First Book of Samuel : "All the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramahand said to him, 'Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example,appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.' Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: 'Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.' Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. He told them: 'The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will use your daughters as ointment makers, as cooks, and as bakers.He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves,and give them to his officials. He will tithe your crops and your vineyards, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves. He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best oxen and your asses, and use them to do his work. He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When this takes place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen,but on that day the LORD will not answer you.' The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, 'Not so! There must be a king over us. We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles.' When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say, he repeated it to the LORD, who then said to him, 'Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them.' " ~~~~~ The background to this episode is that the Israelis believed that they were the people chosen by God and that they had received His laws so that they could be the example on Earth of His way for humanity. So, in asking Samuel for a king, the Israelis were rejecting the special reason for existence God had given them. ~~~~~ Now, let's shift to the 1770s in the American Colonies. The Americans were sure of their exceptionalism long before de Tocqueville coined the phrase. William Winthrop, a Puritan preacher and political leader, gave voice to the idea that America was "the city on the hill," a phrase held dear by Ronald Reagan and neoconsetvatives. But, in planning to break away from England and her king, the Founders often wrote of America's republicanism based on Christian religious principles but not bound to any one church or sect. Thomas Jefferson called America the world's great " Empire of Liberty" - that is the model for democracy and republicanism. He identified his nation as a beacon to the world, for, he said on departing the presidency in 1809, America was : "Trusted with the destinies of this solitary republic of the world, the only monument of human rights, and the sole depository of the sacred fire of freedom and self-government, from hence it is to be lighted up in other regions of the earth, if other regions of the earth shall ever become susceptible of its benign influence." And in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Jefferson did what Samuel had done thousands of years earlier. He listed the evils inherent in monarchy in a long passage that gets little attention today : "[The King] has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people....He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone,...He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others [for the purpose of] cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world...imposing Taxes on us without our Consent...depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury...taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments....He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny." ~~~~~ Dear readers, in a political sense, the Israeli people who opposed Samuel and Americans could be considered the first and the latest manifestations of the idea that sometimes a people are selected by God to be an example of how human society should be organized and on what principles. The Israelis failed in the time of Samuel, rejecting the notion that they were "different" and were meant to serve as a guide for others. America, which for two hundred years has served as a guide, may be feeling the same rebellion against destiny as the Israelis did -- "we too must be like other nations" -- that is, we are tired of our burden and want a "nanny state" government to take care of us, for once. But, as the Israelis learned, so America must learn the lesson that there is no escape from an exceptional destiny. It is the reason for existing. Asking for a ticket out of exceptionalism is impossible unless the very term "American" is to be erased, along with the history and Declaration of Independence and Constitution that define what an American is. Think about this, America, the next time you want to leave Syria to al-Assad or say you want to opt out of Iraq or Afghanistan or decide to vote for someone whose siren song is "pull up the ladder so we can isolate ourselves from our destiny while I decide what's best for you." That candidate wants to be your King. Thomas Jefferson gave America life for another, special, reason. Don't squander the gift.

6 comments:

  1. I believe that in the short account of mankind there have been 2 races of man that have been the selected people of God to carry forth his will, set the example, and do his behest. The first one is unquestionably the Jewish people. Since Day 1 of mankind the Jews have lead the way, sacrificed at nearly every step, and faced total annihilation.

    Then almost as a respite for the Jews comes the Americans to shoulder some of the responsibilities. And we did so with dignity, aspiration, and morality. After all American was founded on Judea-Christian principals.

    Contrary to Israel, America has allowed a varied group of non-believers and heathens to impose their Godless beliefs on our country that was founded as “One Nation Under God.” We have allowed in the name of equality and fairness people of distain for religion, people that want to be ruled because of their hopelessness to control their own lives (but they want to be in American for the economic advantages).

    American cannot be all things to all people. We can be all things to all people that share our beliefs of religion and government. I don’t think we offer very much to people that have no religious direction or sense of human rights. People that want the likes of Sharia Law as their legal system should be in a country that honors and understands Sharia law … American is not one.

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  2. This is such a difficult subject to defend, argue, or ignore.

    Thomas Paine wrote on 1/10/1776 on American Exceptionlism ... " the cause of America in in great measure the cause of all mankind"


    And John Winthrop in 1630 wrote in America, America Exceptionalism,and God... "For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us."

    For all the worlds problem today, and particular that of America if Exceptionalism exists anyplace I'm confident that it is in American and Israel. I think we are more alike than many ever ponder.

    Thank you Casey Pops for enlightening us once again.

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  3. Slowed down in a crippling economic slump and hamstrung by partisan political debates, America faces substantial economic challenges, from widespread unemployment to the government’s ballooning debt. These assaults on our prosperity reflect the unintended consequences of more than a decade of government intervention in virtually all areas of the economy. A natural and reasonable solution to our economic challenges is a return to the country’s founding principles—limited government, rule of law, strong incentives, reliance on markets, a predictable policy framework—and rekindle its economic dynamism.

    The phrase “American exceptionalism” is used in many ways and for many purposes, but its original meaning involved a statement of fact: for the first century after the Constitution went into effect, European observers and Americans alike saw the United States as exceptional, with political and civic cultures that had no counterparts anywhere else. America’s geography, ideology, politics, and daily life set the new nation apart from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

    At the heart of this American dream and exceptionalism, lay the initial notion that people have unlimited possibility to move up the social ladder without regard to national origin, starting social layer, ethnic, religious or other association by birth, because society provided unlimited opportunity for economic, socio-cultural, or other advancement.

    Another, very important feature of American exceptionalism was the certainty of Americans that they had the best Constitution--one that was created by a single stroke, thanks to the genius of the Founding Fathers. Then there is the belief that American society is a nearly classless one. Here is a society that effectively battled poverty and created just relations between classes and social groups.

    Except for the misunderstood thought of a closed to most and open to only people of the Jewish faith societal opportunities the above idea of exceptionalism is mirrored in Israel as it was in America.

    The BELIEF of exceptionalism in America has been defeated by Obama and his administration. It is not dead … it is being severely tested. We, more so than in Israel because of their security problems can again be just what we want to be. We can return to being the shining city on the hill or we can adjust and accept the lack luster country that Obama wishes to turn us into.

    "You can call it mysticism if you want to, but I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage." – Ronald Reagan

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  4. As with Israel also ...

    "The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."
    Alexis de Tocqueville from Democracy in America

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  5. "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else."
    Winston Churchill

    Well mr.rime Minister under this administration attempts at tearing apart our Constitution & Bill of Rights, after all the untruths told by this president and his fellow upper echelon of federal administrators, and after Obama personal attacks on israel and his attempts to dive a wedge between our 2 great countries ... after all this, I think we are about ready to do the right things again - at least once we get a new president.

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