America is at war I believe since JFK’s assassination. We’ve been under attack for 34yrs since G. Bush Sr said – New World Order; since Obama’s declaration about transforming America and quipping Pennsylvanians only cared about religion, guns and xenophobia; since Hillary with her basket of deplorables referencing Republicans, conservatives, patriots; since peaceful demonstrators(?) burning down cities; since Biden’s DOJ declaring parents voicing outrage at PTA meetings domestic terrorists!
Anti-American, leftist, racist, globalists have worked for years to undermine/corrupt our government, constitution, race relations and way of life. Lately they’ve focused on rights of gays, transgenders, juvenile sex assignments/sexual orientation, black history rewrite of our heritage, systemic racism and so on.
Then there’s the 2020 election, Covid pandemic w/untested vaccines, J6 Insurrection, corruption at highest levels of gov- ernment, rabid prosecutions of Trump – but to get our heads around all this let’s go back . .
Imagine if you can a time when the world was mostly uncivilized and settlements had rulers controlling everything: kings, kaisers, czars you name it. Anywhere people congregated there was a ruler, sometimes beneficent, often not.
There were democracies down through ages but all had failed due to infighting, faction or simply a bullying unsympathetic majority. Crafting successful self-government, it seems, was elusive or unknowable.
Then, unsatisfied with their situation, a small group of Anglo-Saxons took it upon themselves to break away, journey to a remote land and start their own society, choosing rulers and making laws. If rulers proved unsuitable they were replaced. Colonies formed diverse political entities, coalescing into a federation of states.
Meanwhile their distant king began exacting fees/taxes and setting rules that were onerous on the colonists, at which point they rose up, declared their independence, fought a war characterized as revolution and won their freedom! Note only a minority rose up, since most colonists were content in their situation, royalist or apathetic.
War ends 1781; Eagle National Bird 1782; Constitution 1787; Bill of Rights 1791. A group of wealthy, white, patriotic, highly educated landowners, some of whom owned slaves, worked over a few short years to craft the world’s first constitution, of, by and for the People, defining the character and creed of the new Americans.
A person was an American by birth/naturalization but more so by allegiance to the precepts and ideals of the founding documents. We weren’t just an organic assembly/accumulation of differing peoples. We were a new concept of nationhood, a new idea for crafting/imposing government on the people, an over-arching hope for all humanity there could be justice, fairness and freedom in the world.
Native born Americans and people who came to become free were kindred spirits. They were not connected so much by ethnicity, race, color or place of birth as by their hopes and dreams. The growing reality was America had become the best place to make hopes and dreams possible!
Sadly, it turned out activating the idealism of the founding wasn’t easy. Lofty proclamations/promises were easier set out on parchment than made to happen. The founders struggled with this disconnect between design and implementation and came to accept – like engineers waiting for science to catch up – time, suffering, inequality, perseverance would all be necessary to ultimately win their dream.
So with doubts, flaws, misgivings Americans worked and endured all that was necessary to make their ultimate goal achievable. The constant struggle to live up to/satisfy the demands of their heritage caused them to grow more and more unique in the world. It seemed striving, being motivated to improve, changing toward betterment, were relatively unknown in other places and in and of themselves caused people to look to America for hope.
Plainly, not all enjoyed the fruits of the founding, but remain- ed ever hopeful things would come their way. Then came the rending of the nation’s unity/spirit, along with a wastage and surfeit of treasure and blood, all being necessary to get back on track. Still, it took another 100yrs to sell if not force the truth of the Declaration’s words into everyone’s mind.
In 19thcentury it was generally understood one could not become a Frenchman, German or Swede except by blood. You could move to those places, adopt laws, values, language ways but still not be a full-fledged member of society. Culturally they and virtually all other places were private clubs. They might welcome outsiders needing help, but never completely assimilate them into their society, except maybe next generations who adapted.
America does and always has done, for better or worse, with the result we’re not only unique in this regard but enviably exceptional in its doing. Again, we’re not so much an organic accumulation of home-grown peoples as a mix/gathering of like-minded, right-living peoples wanting to join and participate in the great demographic experiment amalgamating every variety of homo-sapiens on the planet in the belief > knowledge > we’re all the same!
Granted, blending remains an ongoing process. It doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, many cities developed ghettos of foreigners like Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Chinese. They lived amongst their own but soon realized to be American they had to enter mainstream society: dress, look and speak like Americans. Some did, but it was their kids and subsequent generations who achieved necessary bona fides to effectively mask their ethnicity, become fungible members of society.
Admittedly this was harder for people of color and/or those who didn’t learn to speak English well. The most non-assume-lative group were Blacks, but great efforts were exerted and today they know virtually every aspect of being full-fledged Americans.
Now I ask, is the eagle simply an iconic image subject to the rhythms of nature/time, or is it more akin to the mythical Phoenix that dies then rises from its funeral pyre to live on? I think America is more idea than place. People around the world hold doubts/ fears, hopes and dreams, the need for opportunity, achievement and validation, same as us.
So again, we’re at risk. Some would destroy us to politically globalize the world. Just know American uniqueness/exceptionalism are real, if not yet fully realized. They can be, someday, given the chance. And I believe our eagle, if needs be, can be our Phoenix, restoring us to greatness once again . .
You’ve Been Reading Shaneview
I’m Al Shane
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