US Exceptionalism as Idolatry - 0 views

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  #1 Frederick Smith on 05 Dec 10

   

  The insistence of conservative leaders that patriotism be defined by a believe that the US is INTRINSICALLY EXCEPTIONAL strikes me as the very form of IDOLATRY attacked by both Hebrew prophets and Jesus - who pointed out that God's chosen Israel was guilty of many wrongs (social injustice and spiritual pride & hypocrisy). The prophesies about the fall of Jerusalem and Temple - and the insistence that God preferred merciful hearts and justice toward the poor over orthodox beliefs, rituals and nationalism - were seen at the time as anti-religious and unpatriotic, and resulted in persecution. But the protests of political leadership and "false prophets" ("Calamity won't come upon you!" - Jer. 23:17) did not prevent the ACTUAL destruction of the Temple,& political entity, in both the 6th C. BCE & the 1st C. CE.
  America has many great things to its credit: its Constitution, its guarantee of civil liberties including religious freedom, its traditional welcome of immigrants & prohibition of discrimination against them (14th Amendment!), the Civil Rights movement. But the Constitution came at the expense of legitimizing chattel slavery; & reconciliation of the South after the Civil War came at the expense of segregation, loss of black voting rights and KKK terror. Much of what some citizens have seen as exceptional - expansion to the Pacific (much of it through a questionable war with Mexico, and slaveholding occupation of much of the Louisiana Purchase, addition of territories through deceptive use of force against Spain in 1898, Hawaii's rulers in 1899 and Colombia in 1903 (to obtain Panama Canal) - as well as violent suppression of Philippines independence movement in first decade of 20th C.) - can hardly be things that God facilitated.
  If we want to be "exceptional" in a good way (competition isn't always bad, when it doesn't hurt the Other, and when it strives for excellence), shouldn't it be through our VALUES and how we PRACTICE them? - for instance, opposition to violence as a first resort for solving disputes and our efforts at genuine peace-making, our push for civil rights abroad as well as at home (think Jimmy Carter), our valuing of each other as fellow citizens (instead of trying to "take back 'OUR' country" from people of the party who are almost demonized as near-traitors), our willingness to compromise for the sake of the overall, long-term good of the country? The Republican insistence on sticking to ideological purity, to seeing as Obama's defeat as their primary goal (therefore, non-compromise on most substantive legislation) represents the kind of idolatrous, exclusive nationalism Jeremiah faced in 600 BCE and Jesus did about 30 CE.
  I fear that the US WILL decline as a nation - relative to China, for instance - primarily because the thinking of one of its 2 major parties (one essential to cooperative good governance) has ossified and is consumed only with the idea of power, and to exclude the Other (which our half-African President seems to emblemize for them) from any influence.
  We have been blessed as a country, but I am convinced God did not ordain us to be THE exceptional nation. Only Israel has any Scriptural claim to that title, and much of their example as a "light to the Gentiles" has been in how the Jewish people have suffered (Isaiah's original "suffering servant": the very role Jesus took on himself as the Christ: humility, mercy & inclusion - not pride and a harsh exclusive attitude.)
  What is the definition of idolatry? To worship at the altar of ANY human construct - whether thing or idea - rather than to bow to God's mystery - in Micah's words: "God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" ( Micah 6:8)

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">The insistence of conservative leaders that patriotism be defined by a believe that the US is INTRINSICALLY EXCEPTIONAL strikes me as the very form of IDOLATRY attacked by both Hebrew prophets and Jesus - who pointed out that God's chosen Israel was guilty of many wrongs (social injustice and spiritual pride & hypocrisy). The prophesies about the fall of Jerusalem and Temple - and the insistence that God preferred merciful hearts and justice toward the poor over orthodox beliefs, rituals and nationalism - were seen at the time as anti-religious and unpatriotic, and resulted in persecution. But the protests of political leadership and "false prophets" ("Calamity won't come upon you!" - Jer. 23:17) did not prevent the ACTUAL destruction of the Temple,& political entity, in both the 6th C. BCE & the 1st C. CE. <br /> America has many great things to its credit: its Constitution, its guarantee of civil liberties including religious freedom, its traditional welcome of immigrants & prohibition of discrimination against them (14th Amendment!), the Civil Rights movement. But the Constitution came at the expense of legitimizing chattel slavery; & reconciliation of the South after the Civil War came at the expense of segregation, loss of black voting rights and KKK terror. Much of what some citizens have seen as exceptional - expansion to the Pacific (much of it through a questionable war with Mexico, and slaveholding occupation of much of the Louisiana Purchase, addition of territories through deceptive use of force against Spain in 1898, Hawaii's rulers in 1899 and Colombia in 1903 (to obtain Panama Canal) - as well as violent suppression of Philippines independence movement in first decade of 20th C.) - can hardly be things that God facilitated. <br /> If we want to be "exceptional" in a good way (competition isn't always bad, when it doesn't hurt the Other, and when it strives for excellence), shouldn't it be through our VALUES and how we PRACTICE them? - for instance, opposition to violence as a first resort for solving disputes and our efforts at genuine peace-making, our push for civil rights abroad as well as at home (think Jimmy Carter), our valuing of each other as fellow citizens (instead of trying to "take back 'OUR' country" from people of the party who are almost demonized as near-traitors), our willingness to compromise for the sake of the overall, long-term good of the country? The Republican insistence on sticking to ideological purity, to seeing as Obama's defeat as their primary goal (therefore, non-compromise on most substantive legislation) represents the kind of idolatrous, exclusive nationalism Jeremiah faced in 600 BCE and Jesus did about 30 CE. <br /> I fear that the US WILL decline as a nation - relative to China, for instance - primarily because the thinking of one of its 2 major parties (one essential to cooperative good governance) has ossified and is consumed only with the idea of power, and to exclude the Other (which our half-African President seems to emblemize for them) from any influence. <br /> We have been blessed as a country, but I am convinced God did not ordain us to be THE exceptional nation. Only Israel has any Scriptural claim to that title, and much of their example as a "light to the Gentiles" has been in how the Jewish people have suffered (Isaiah's original "suffering servant": the very role Jesus took on himself as the Christ: humility, mercy & inclusion - not pride and a harsh exclusive attitude.) <br /> What is the definition of idolatry? To worship at the altar of ANY human construct - whether thing or idea - rather than to bow to God's mystery - in Micah's words: "God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" ( Micah 6:8)</div>

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