I can't let a current post on the OnTheBorderLine blog go without comment. The post is titled "The Moral Superiority of America," by Gunston Hall.
For starters, let's break this post down:
1. I'll use this definition of moral: concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles; "moral sense"; "a moral scrutiny"; "a moral lesson"; "a moral quandary"; "moral convictions"; "a moral life"
2. For superiority, we'll use this definition: displaying a sense of being better than others; "he hated the white man's superiority and condescension"
From these two definitions, we'll say "moral superiority" means our principles of right and wrong display a sense of being better than others. Moral superiority allows us -- the US -- to determine what is right and what is wrong.
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FYI: Gunston Hall Plantation is the Virginia home of George Mason. Who was George Mason? He is relatively unknown among the Founding Fathers, but his intellect was renowned as one of the finest in the Colonies. In fact, Thomas Jefferson called Mason "the wisest man of his generation." Fellow Virginian Edmund Randolph added: "He was behind none of the sons of Virginia in knowledge of her history and interest. At a glance, he saw to the bottom of every proposition which affected her." James Madison praised Mason as "a powerful reasoner, a profound statesman, and a devoted republican." He was also a neighbor of George Washington.
Although a lifelong slaveholder, Mason abhorred the institution(Can you say "hypocrite?"), feeling that "every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant." (Can you say, "talk is cheap?") He favored abolition as soon as it was economically feasible (i.e., long after he was dead) and wished to halt all future importation of slaves. However, a hasty compromise (Can you say "middle ground?") was worked out permitting the slave trade to continue for another 20 years.
The Bill of Rights (for white men owning land) has received a lot of attention, but little recognition was given to George Mason, who was the driving force behind the document. Mason (1725-1792) was the author of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, which the Marquis de Condorcet called "the first Bill of Rights to merit the name." Mason fought against ratification of the United States Constitution because it contained no bill of rights. As a leader of the Anti-Federalists, his objections led to the first 10 amendments, which were ratified in 1791.
Gearge Mason University in Fairfax, VA is named after him and is ground zero of neo-conservativism. A great deal of corporate cash is pumped into George Mason University to get people with PhD's after their names to say great things about corporate greed, pollution and global hegemony and bad things about public education, unions and government health care. In a "fair and balanced" way, George Mason is the FOX News and Weekly Standard of American universities: where right means right (as in Bill Kristol's v. Pat Buchanan's version of right) and left means wrong.
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So know on the other side of the borderline, they have a new poster child named Gunston Hall (Hi Bill! How are things in Mississippi?) waving the mighty white flag of blue-nosed, redneck America called the "stars and bars." From his post, it sounds like ol' Gunston spent too much time staring at the stars on his way home from the bars.
Like so many posts over there, the posters gaze intently at the quotes of dead patriots and totally ignore the facts of history that went on before, during and after those patriots where laid to rest. Of course, it's best to base your whole philosophical house of cards on the words of the dead, because the dead can't come back and tell you their minds change over time as new information comes to light. It's hard enough to get live patriots to own up to what they have said and written. If you don't believe me, just ask President Bush.
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Here's my "favorite" quote from this particular OTBL post:
“The American Left and most Europeans are really against our moral clarity and our virtues, coupled with the fact we are willing to face the facts; willing to make clear moral judgments and act independently with a sense of righteousness. We need not apologize to anyone for this, we should not apologize for our profits and unmatched success, as it is America, the last and best hope for freedom and liberty in this world, who deserves a huge “thank you” from the rest of the civilized world. The founding fathers of this country understood that our future, and the future of the world, was dependent upon leaving the "Old Countries" and old dogmas behind."
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Obviously a drinker of the clear KoolAid of patriotic fantasy, this OTBL poster actually believes a nation so large and diverse as the United States could have "moral clarity," could make "clear moral judgements," and can "act independently with a sense of righteousness." When you face the facts that got America to where it is today, you see blood-stained soil streaking from north to south and blood-splattered trails slashing from east to west. Blood soaks into the ground much faster the wounds of genocide and human bondage heal.
I wonder if poster Gunston Hall is a ninth grader working on his entry for the annual American Legion essay contest? Concerning the "not apologizing for our profits and success" statement, a little history might shed some light on the subject. In 1600-1700s, the profits were mostly going to Spain. In the later 1700s-1800s, most of the profits were going to Britian. Since the late 1800s, the profits have been reaped by the US. Times are changing and, in the not too distant future, the profits may be going to another country.
As for America being "the last and best hope for freedom and liberty in this world," let's hope this statment is based on the lessons we should've learned over the 400 years of the white man's stay in North America. Although, examples like the war in Iraq lead me to believe that our addiction to oil and hunger to "grow the business" will distract us from these lessons. This OTBL cheerleader exemplifies this creed of greed.
No Gunston Hall, the American Left and most Europeans aren't against what you call "moral clarity and our virtues." We are hip to your Orwellian word games and know you mean "make money at the expense of the less fortunate." You paint the rosey picture of pie in the sky and ignore the destruction that litters America's climb to the top of great rock candy mountain.
Study the trail of history, Mr. Gunston Hall. See the slave ships in Cheaspeake Bay. See the KKK lynching those "uppity niggers." See the white European immigrants exterminating the "savages," as the work their way from the East to the West Coast. Hear the government guns firing at the starving workers at Homestead Steel. Hear the muffled death of the mine diasasters. Taste the pollution in Love Canal. See the bald eagle poisoned into an endangered species. Feel the blows of the clubs of corporate greed as they crush the skulls of the weak and poor who grease the machines that increase their bank accounts.
If Gunston Hall is like most OTBL'ers, he likes to deal with facts and figures. Think on these and then think about who owes who an apology:
Here is a list of the larger or more widely known massacres in North America:
•May 26, 1637 - In the Pequot War, English colonists, with Mohegan and Narragansett allies, attack a large Pequot village on the Mystic River in what is now Connecticut and kill perhaps 500 villagers.
•1782 - Gnadenhutten massacre - in the final stages of the American Revolutionary War, nearly 100 noncombatant Christian Delaware (Lenape) Indians (mostly women and children) are killed one at a time (with a hammer blow to the head) by Pennsylvania militiamen.
•April 22, 1818 - Chehaw Affair - United States troops attack a non-hostile village during First Seminole War, killing an estimated fifty men, women, and children.
•August 1-2 1832 - Black Hawk War - about 300 men, women, and children are slaughtered at the Battle of Bad Axe, in Wisconsin by white soldiers
•October 5, 1838 - Killough Massacre - 18 members of the Killough extended family, one of the last massacred in Texas
•1848 - Whitman massacre in Walla Walla, Washington
•1854 - Kaibai Creek, California - 42 Winnemem Wintu men, women, and children are killed by white settlers
•1855 - Grattan Massacre, Brule Sioux in Nebraska Territory.
•February 26, 1860 - Humboldt County, California - upwards of 100 Wiyot men, women, and children are slaughtered by settlers.
•January 29, 1863 - Bear River Massacre - upwards of 200 men, women, and children are slaughtered by whites near Preston, Idaho.
•April 19, 1863 - Keyesville Massacre - in Kern County, California - 35 Tehachapi men are killed by whites [1]
•November 29, 1864 - Sand Creek Massacre - Sand Creek, Colorado - upwards of 160 Cheyenne men, women, and children are slaughtered by militiamen
•December 21, 1866 - Fetterman Massacre - near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming - Lt. Col. William J. Fetterman and a compliment of 79 US soldiers were sent to relieve a train under attack by Oglala Sioux led by Crazy Horse and they were wiped out by an ambush. (Evidence suggests that, like Custer's Last Stand [see below], this should be more fairly considered a battle than a massacre.) See Red Cloud's War.
•November 27, 1868 - Washita Massacre - Washita River, Oklahoma - 100 people killed. (This is often considered a battle, not a massacre.)
•January 23, 1870 - Marias Massacre - 200 Piegans, mainly elderly, women, and children, slaughtered by whites
•June 25, 1876 - Battle of the Little Big Horn - About two hundred fifty men of the US 7th Cavalry Regiment, under Lt. Col. George A. Custer, are wiped out in a battle against Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians. (Though widely considered a "massacre", Custer's men died fighting and in any case initiated the battle by attacking a nearby Sioux village.)
•December 29, 1890 - Wounded Knee Massacre - Wounded Knee, South Dakota - up to 300 Sioux men, women, and children are killed by US soldiers.
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Finally, don't insult our Founding Fathers to justify your greed and selfishness. Democracy in the US is a jambalaya of diversity growing spicier and chunkier with every new immigrant crossing our border. It gets more unstable with every job that gets outsourced. It's a dynamic swirl of flesh and bone, joy, suffering, love, hate, rich and poor, have and have-not, push and shove, ignorance and innovation. You can continue to stick your hand in the sand where the dead patriots are buried and sneak a peak up Ayn Rand's philosophical skirt. Or maybe you can wake up, shag your ass out of bed and come to modern America's table and help rewrite the recipe for this gumbo we call "democracy." The Founding Fathers like George Mason shared their recipes, but over time all recipes change -- usually for the better.
