M2RB: Rush
"So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw."
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw."
- Rush, The Trees
"A society that puts equality...ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
- Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate
By Robert F Samuelson
If you asked my true religion, I
would not answer anything practiced in a church, synagogue or mosque. My
real religion is America, and I feel privileged that, among the world’s
7 billion people, I am one of the roughly 300 million lucky enough to
be an American. This transcends mere patriotism. I believe in what this
country stands for, even though I acknowledge its limits and failures.
As individuals, we are no better than most(selfishness and prejudice
having survived). As a society, we have often violated our loftiest
ideals (starting with the acceptance of slavery in 1787). Our loud
insistence of “exceptionalism” offends millions of non-Americans, who
find us exceptional only in our relentless boasting.
But these caveats do not dim my love of country. I am still stirred by “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
I think our messy mixture of democratic traditions, respect for the
individual and economic dynamism commands a unique place in human
history. In most societies, people are marked by where they were born,
their ethnic heritage or religious conviction. In the United States,
these are secondary. Americans’ self-identity springs from the beliefs
on which this country was founded, including the belief that no one is
automatically better than anyone else simply by virtue of birth.
Our reverence for these ideals remains a touchstone. A few years ago, a friend gave me a copy of “The National Hand-Book of American Progress,”
published in 1876 and edited by Erastus Otis Haven, a bishop in the
Methodist Episcopal Church and the second president of the University
of Michigan. Haven does
laud economic achievements.
The telegraph network, introduced in 1844, had grown to 75,137 miles.
But mostly, Haven celebrates our ideals and political institutions,
which — with the tragic exception of the Civil War — had
settled conflicts peacefully. His collected documents were mostly
political: the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution;
Washington’s Farewell Address; Lincoln’s two inaugural addresses and the
Emancipation Proclamation.
This intense love of country defines Americans and, compared to many, sets us apart. A 2004 study
of 33 countries by the National Opinion Research Center at the
University of Chicago ranked the United States first in national pride.
You might think that this powerful allegiance — what I and no doubt
millions of others call a religion — would bring us together. Often it
does. But on this July Fourth, we face a disturbing paradox: Our love of
country increasingly divides us.
Our national debates now transcend
disputes over this or that spending program or tax and have become — in
the minds of the
combatants — a climactic struggle for the nature and soul of America.
One side is allegedly bent on inserting government into every aspect of
our lives and suffocating individual responsibility and effort. The
other is supposedly beholden to the rich, committed to “survival of the
fittest” and indifferent to everyone else.
If you believe these
are the stakes — and that defeat would extinguish America’s most
valuable and virtuous aspects — then the other side is to be despised
and demolished. Your very love of country impels you to extremes of
rhetoric and belief. It nudges you, increasingly, to hate the other
side.
In the mob's frenzied quest for liberté, égalité, et fraternité, the French Revolution consumed its own. Robespierre perished in
le Règne de la Terreur that he started. This convulsion of humanity
that sought to equalise everything and everyone, ironically, ended with a
tyrant in the form of a diminutive tyrant, Napoleon. In nearly the
same span that America has existed in time, France has had two emperors,
two kings, a Kaiser, a Führer, the Vichy government and 5 republics. Maybe, that whole "liberté,
égalité, et fraternité" would have worked out better for them if they
had just focused on the "liberté" and made it for all.
- Sophie
The backdrop to this struggle is long-standing. As Alexis
de Tocqueville noted, Americans venerate both liberty and equality. Our
entire history involves this tension between preserving freedom and
promoting equality. If you are defending either, you naturally think
that you are the legitimate heir of the country’s core beliefs.
In a democracy, de Tocqueville argued, Americans would ultimately favor equality over freedom, because its material benefits are more immediate and tangible. Not so, countered the late political scientist James Q. Wilson. Americans strongly value freedom, far more than do citizens of any other democratic country, he argued.
There’s plenty of evidence he is right. A recent Pew poll asked people to pick between “freedom to pursue life’s goals without state interference” and the “state guarantees nobody is in need.” Americans selected freedom 58 percent to 35 percent. European responses were reversed: Germany’s 36 percent to 62 percent was typical. By wide margins compared with Europeans, Americans believe that “success in life” is determined by individual effort and not by outside forces. Yet, in their voting habits, Americans often prefer security.
The inconsistencies and contradictions won’t soon vanish. But in today’s politically poisoned climate, righteousness is at a premium and historical reality at a discount. Each side, whether “liberal” or “conservative,” Republican or Democrat, behaves as if it has a monopoly on historical truth. The fear that the existence of their version of America is threatened sows discord and explains why love of country has become a double-edged sword, dividing us when it might unite.
In a democracy, de Tocqueville argued, Americans would ultimately favor equality over freedom, because its material benefits are more immediate and tangible. Not so, countered the late political scientist James Q. Wilson. Americans strongly value freedom, far more than do citizens of any other democratic country, he argued.
There’s plenty of evidence he is right. A recent Pew poll asked people to pick between “freedom to pursue life’s goals without state interference” and the “state guarantees nobody is in need.” Americans selected freedom 58 percent to 35 percent. European responses were reversed: Germany’s 36 percent to 62 percent was typical. By wide margins compared with Europeans, Americans believe that “success in life” is determined by individual effort and not by outside forces. Yet, in their voting habits, Americans often prefer security.
The inconsistencies and contradictions won’t soon vanish. But in today’s politically poisoned climate, righteousness is at a premium and historical reality at a discount. Each side, whether “liberal” or “conservative,” Republican or Democrat, behaves as if it has a monopoly on historical truth. The fear that the existence of their version of America is threatened sows discord and explains why love of country has become a double-edged sword, dividing us when it might unite.
Related Reading:
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death...You Can Keep The "Equality"
Morality in America
Obama's Neo-Nationalism
The Taxman Cometh Differently On Either Side Of The Pond....Although Probably Not For Long
This Is Main Street, Obamaville: All Bumps, No Road
The Left's Gordian Knot
Beyond Blue: The Great Divorce
Last Exit to Utopia
The Absolute Shalls of the Progressive Left Return
Forget The Buffett Rule! The Reagan Rules Rock!
Slouching and Slothing Our Way to Ameritopia
The Welfare State Is Destroying America - I
The Welfare State Is Destroying America - II
Progressivism as Conservativism
The Trees - Rush
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw
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