A Wedding, a Birthday and American Exceptionalism

Monticello

It’s Thomas Jefferson’s birthday as I write this.  My wife and I just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Charlottesville, VA, the site of Jefferson’s home Monticello which we enjoyed visiting.  The occasion for the trip was not Jefferson’s birthday but rather my cousin’s wedding.

The weather was wonderful and the wedding celebration even more so.  As is often the case, I managed to find my way into an intellectual discussion in the midst of all this celebration.  I enjoy a debate that is respectful and where I have the opportunity to learn something new as was the case on this occasion. Standing a few feet from the Italian buffet, I was discussing American Exceptionalism with a well-traveled and obviously well read woman. 

She decries the use of the term.  Having lived overseas at various times in her life, she connects it to the boorish Ugly American who embarrasses us all.  She is undoubtedly correct in making that connection. Many conservative politicians have used the term to advance the idea that Americans are superior.  I agree with her in that I find Americans to be no more exceptional than citizens of other countries.

The term American Exceptionalism can be traced to the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville and refers to the notion that the United States was born of new ideas -- liberty, equal opportunity and laissez-faire economics.  In that sense, America was and remains exceptional.

Our economic progress has been the result of ideas embraced by both major political parties. Public investment in infrastructure, private investment in free enterprise and openness to immigration have created an economy that generates nearly a quarter of the world’s GDP despite having only 5% of its population. 

So, despite the xenophobia of established citizens and political efforts to slow the influx of immigrants, they keep coming.  The promise of an American way of life is as attractive today as it was in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries.

Our continued prosperity is derived from principles of Economic Freedom – free market capitalism, private property rights, the rule of law and predictable policy.  It’s no surprise that Jefferson’ study has a portrait of John Locke hanging on the wall to this day.  Locke was preeminent in the British Enlightenment of the 1690s.  He promoted then radical ideas that all citizens should be free to enjoy the fruits of their own labor, that innovators should enjoy the profits resulting from their inventions and that capitalism is the prime mover for prosperity. 

And so, even today, America can claim to be exceptional for its adherence to the founders’ principles and for its diversity of thought and culture. 

 

The blessing circle

My cousin and his bride are both Italian Americans raised as Roman Catholics.  Our celebration lasted for three days.  On the last evening, the couple asked for the blessings of their friends and family.  Standing in a loose circle, we were all given the opportunity to offer our words of love to the newlyweds.  The blessings were officiated by a couple that ministers to a Unity Church.  He was raised in a Jewish household and she as a Roman Catholic.  The offerings included special remembrances (some offered in Italian) as well as a Baha’i prayer recited by an Iranian American and a Jewish recitation that preceded the groom breaking a glass followed by a shout of “Mazeltov!” by the assembled congregation.

How’s that for exceptional?

Somewhere Thomas Jefferson was smiling.

WHO WILL LEAD?

Hope, Love, Forgiveness… Can Society Achieve It?

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Recently, my brother sent me something that got me thinking.  It was a quote from Reinhold Niebuhr. Here it is in part:  “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope…  Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love.  No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint.  Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.”

That’s a lot to digest.  But, if you can accept the first sentence – embrace the notion that civil society can achieve great things -- then you must accept the rest of the statement. And, if you do, you are forced to elevate your expectations – our expectations – of others and ourselves.

Much of our lives are governed by the drive to attain credentials. We measure our kids by their grades, success at sports and SAT scores.   We measure ourselves by an endless stream of degrees, titles, certifications and awards all of which are beautifully presented on our LinkedIn profiles.  Is that how you value yourself?  C’mon…  really?

Life isn’t about how we’re graded; it’s about who we are.  And, who we are is very complicated.  Most of our mind is occupied by the unconscious.  While our analytical mind expresses logic and reason, our emotions assign value and are the basis for reason.  We progress as individuals or as a society when reason incites passion.

So, what incites our passion?  How do we undertake great initiatives that realize the promise of Niebuhr’s assertion? 

Western society is programmed according to “humanist” tradition, a philosophy that emphasizes the value of people both individually and collectively.  The tenets of humanism can be traced to the ancient Greek philosophers and they re-emerge throughout history.  Humanism survived the Dark Ages and was reincarnated through the British Enlightenment during the 17^th Century – through the works of John Locke, Adam Smith and Scot David Hume.  It evolved in the 18^th Century in the French Enlightenment of Rousseau and Voltaire.  It took form in the Declaration of Independence authored by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. 

The notion of human rights is powerfully attractive, not only to us in the West but also, to people the world over.  Wherever religious conflict arises, tolerance is urged.  The concept of self-rule, championed by Jefferson and Voltaire, is fundamental to the Arab Spring.  Although European in their origin, these ideas now form the basis on which the international community judges nations. 

Exemplary of Niebuhr’s thinking, the hopes of the Age of Enlightenment have taken many lifetimes to spread the world over. 

A great quote from the Iron Lady (a movie about the life of former British PM Margaret Thatcher) expresses it thusly:  “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become.”

Our conscious mind craves money and success.  Yet, at a deeper level, we seek moments of transcendence.  Most people cannot achieve the promise of Thatcher’s words – what we think, we become.  It is rarer still that what we think can be captured and expressed so eloquently that it influences world events for generations.  Yet, the inexorable surge for freedom, equal rights and tolerance continues.

The 20^th Century was dominated by tumultuous events that distracted us from our core human values of tolerance and hope.  The first quarter of the century was shaped by the collapse of both the Hapsburg and Ottoman Empires.  It was followed by economic depression and holocaust.  The second half was subsumed in a monumental struggle between two great nuclear powers. 

The post-Cold War era has brought us economic prosperity followed by collapse.  The end of the old world order has brought us terrorism and war.

Yet, I have hope.  Hope that civil society will prevail in accordance with humanist tradition.  Hope that we will continue to evolve according to the tenets of tolerance and self-rule.  Those ideas are part of our DNA.  That they have been expressed in so many ways for thousands of years is ample evidence. 

The only question is:  WHO WILL LEAD?