Philosophy of perfection and problems in American history

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I had mentioned yesterday that a philosophy of perfection or at least of a high standard of Christian behavior tends to lead to the subtle pressure to minimize one’s faults in order to maintain the image of near perfection. This is particularly true if one has broken away from another group which one claims is not really a “true” Christian group because of their behavior. But, what happens when this type of thinking becomes strong in a country? Well, yesterday I pointed out that America had a doctrine of Manifest Destiny which was held from the early part of the 19th century all the way until the early part of the 20th century.

Behind that phrase was a mixture of Calvinist predestination, Anabaptist separation, and some frank political expediency. That is a civil religion, which was fully backed by the existing Christian groups, arose which saw the move of the Puritans (and Anabaptists) to the New World as a merciful move of God in order that a “true” religion be set up on these shores. More than that, in making us a type of “chosen” people, to demonstrate to the Old World that they were so wrong in their ways, God had also “gifted” us with all the lands, from one coast to the other. When Francis Scott Key wrote his poem “The Star Spangled Banner” during the War of 1812, he wrote the following words in the fourth verse, “. . . may the heav’n rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’” We are considered the heav’n rescued land.

 But in order to preserve the idea that we are such a land and such an example, we had to keep arguing that we were indeed that shining example. Yet, our behavior often did not demonstrate any such behavior. And, so, we began to develop national mythologies that were little better, and often worse, than the mythologies of other countries. Ask yourself, how did we treat the Indians? Nowadays we would call it ethnic cleansing. There was a deliberate removal of the inhabitants from their lands, including the slaughter of those who resisted down to their women and children. Does this sound like Yugoslavia and Kosovo? This went on until the beginning of the 20thcentury. Are you aware that, “Geronimo died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909 as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery there?” The last skirmishes of the “Indian Wars” were fought in the early 20th century. It was only 50 some years later that the descendants of many of the native peoples began their push to have the treaties that were signed with them honored. And, yet, I can remember being taught in elementary school, and through the Saturday serials, that the Indians were evil people who were always attacking us. It was never questioned that we had the right to expand and it was never mentioned that those whose land was being invaded may have had the right to resist. That is, we had to justify our behavior because it certainly did not accord with our Christian principles. In particular, the Cherokee of the southeast and the Seminoles were most shamefully mistreated given that they were more peaceful than not. And, so, oops, I was never quite taught about the Cherokee and the Seminoles in my school in Ohio. So, Manifest Destiny became the glasses through which the Native American experience was interpreted. They were resisting God’s will that we take over the entire continent, “from sea to shining sea.” And, as with Joshua and the Old Testament, those who resist God’s will may be exterminated.

Yes, I do need to bring up African-Americans, but for a different reason. In England, the fight against slavery began in the late 1700′s and spread to the USA. However, the British were the first in doing away with slavery, and they did it on Christian principle. You see John Wilberforce, his allies, and people such as John Newton (who wrote Amazing Grace) managed to convince the public and the Parliament that it was wrong for Christians to hold slaves in the way in which they did. John’s son, Samuel Wilberforce was an Anglican bishop. But, in the USA, to admit to that would be to admit that we were not a shining city on the hill. And, so, we split into northern and southern Presbyterians, northern and Southern Baptist. And, a whole set of teachings sprung up to justify slavery, the laws against miscegenation, etc. We were not able to get rid of slavery peacefully. And, when the Civil War was won, another whole mythology sprung up in the South about the War of Northern Aggression. And, there was another whole generation of preachers to justify segregation and to stand by as poll tax laws and other ways to keep African-Americans subjugated were used.

And, so, the inability to admit that we were not the “chosen” ones and that we were not a city on a hill, and that we were not any better than those Europeans and Slavs and Greeks and Russians and Arabs who were also calling themselves Christian, led to some terrible consequences.

Some of you may say that this is old history, but, uhm, my father was born before Geronimo died, and I was born before Martin Luther King ever marched from Selma. This is not old history, and it has had an effect that has lasted all the way until today.

===MORE TO COME===

Related posts:

1. Philosophy of perfection and American History
2. The scandal of Church history
3. Why some fundamentalists need to study history!
4. A small excerpt from a history of child-raising
5. On arguing about the Church

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