----- Original Message ----- From: "Marvin Long, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 10:00 AM Subject: Re: war and peace
> > Knowing this, then, and knowing that Europeans are not an undifferentiated > mass of cynics, why indulge in this rather odd and (IMO) misleading > formulation of American idealism? Because that type of idealism is at the foundation of the US. Lincoln said the US was "the last, best hope of mankind." > Is manifest destiny the only language of idealism at hand? Why do you keep on using loaded terms that do not relate to the question at hand? Manifest Destiny refers to the concept that God gave the swath of land that is now the continuous 48 states to the United States, and that we had a right to take that land by any means necessary. The idealism that I hear Bush speak of is that, having been blessed with both liberty and power, we have an obligation to protect and expand that liberty worldwide. Spiderman is a closer comparison: with great power comes great responsibility. >For all the people who respect and admire America's > accomplishments but are nervous about our growing power, what language > could be more unnerving then that particular choice? And for Americans > who doubt that this is the best use of our power, who haven't made up > their minds (like me)...it's just not helpful. Not for me, anyway. But you seem uncomfortable with the very thought of objective morality. It sounds that the assumption that we can know right from wrong and act upon it is at the core of your discomfort. (I chose "sounds like" very deliberately, because I certainly am not in a position to tell you what is at the core of your discomfort. I am merely in a position to tell you what your posts sound like to me. I'd appreciate clarification.) Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
