There are a lot of ways to think about our current… disagreement. But at its core, I think it’s this: is America a nation, or an idea? Hardware or software? Can it be shared, or can it be walled off?
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For people who are so obsessed with the Roman empire, their blindness to lesson #1 of it - that the Romans were very expansive and inclusive in granting citizenship - continues to be maddening.
ICE storms a citizen’s home. No cause. No apology. No law. JD Vance says America isn’t an idea. If he is right, if rights and due process mean nothing, then this is not a nation of principles. Just a violent place with a flag. And they are proud of it.
"Why is the goose-step not used in England? ...plenty of army officers who would be only too glad to introduce some such thing. It is not used because the people in the street would laugh--George Orwell. Idea or culture? Are we still a nation where the people dare laugh at authority?
Turns out the “Deep State” is constitutional order. Decent and dedicated citizens upholding the rule of law and defending the constitution. What American would be against that?
America as a nation would require a shared culture. America as an idea would need share values. Right now the focus on fear and differences prevents any conversation to find common traditions or values. What is needed is a voice that articulates something we can all believe in for the common good
Of course it’s both. The problem lies with the autocrats systematically turning the ‘idea’ into one that reflects a notion of nationalism rejected by Americans.
Canada was born on an idea. Peace, order, and good governance, but it’s grown beyond that. The land shaped us. It’s rugged and the conditions can be inhospitable in many places. You HAVE to take care of each other. It’s grown beyond that since.
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Nothing happens unless first a dream."
--Carl Sandburg, "Washington Monument by Night"
Does the US embrace or reject that evil as one of it's principles?
The US has talked a good game over the years, but it's history is violent/predatory and rarely lived up to it's supposed principles.