American Exceptionalism

This Fourth of July week is a great week to think about our country and what it means to be American.  I received an essay from our former Priest today and as usual his writing is  brilliant, inspiring and insightful.  Please read it and digest it.  Then have your kids read it.  Then read it together and discuss.  You'll be glad you did.

American Exceptionalism: A Panegyric

The Founders of our nation were a diverse group of people. Imagine them gathered together in Independence Hall, Philadelphia preparing to vote on the Declaration of Independence. Many in the room were Anglicans (members of the Church of England), but there were also Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists and adherents of the Dutch Reformed Church. Most held conventional views about God and Christianity, but several were nominal Deists, men such as Thomas Jefferson, who in 1804 would write an edited version of the Gospels that eliminated all miracles and references to the supernatural. This “Jefferson Bible” is still popular and in print today.

With all the religious diversity among the Founders, there still was a consensus among them on what we term as “civil religion” – the public religion that united them as Americans. Call it the American Creed. Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography articulated it this way: “A belief that there is one God who made all things. That he governs the world by his Providence. That he ought to be worshiped by Prayer, Adoration and Thanksgiving. But that the most acceptable Service to God is doing good to Man. That the soul is immortal. And that God will certainly reward Virtue and punish Vice either here or hereafter.”

When Thomas Jefferson presented the Declaration of Independence to the group, they unanimously agreed that “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” and among these are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Freedom is something all Americans want and value. No matter our political opinions, or even our religious beliefs, whether we are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, freedom is the one thing that unites Americans. And yet, freedom, as the Founders of our nation understood it, is more complex than we may think. It acknowledges both the sinfulness of human beings but also their capacity for virtue. These two components – sin and virtue – are at the heart of the American system of government and the basis for American Exceptionalism.

The Founders were adamant: The State does not give us our rights; God does. They sought not freedom from God but freedom under God. They appreciated the wisdom of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, who long before had said that a people who refuse to be governed by God will be governed by tyrants. Our Founders heartily agreed.

HUMAN SINFULNESS

Our Founders knew that any proper understanding of freedom means coming to terms with sin. John Adams believed that “whoever would found a state and make proper laws for the government of it must presume that all men are bad by nature.”

James Madison, the principal drafter of the Constitution, believed that both those who governed and those who were governed needed restraints because of human sinfulness. In Federalist Paper #51, Madison wrote: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” But men are not angels. In Federalist Paper #10, Madison wrote of conflicting interests that have “divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to cooperate for their common good.” The roots of this, he wrote, is “sown in the nature of man.”

Madison and others assumed that human beings are sinful, and so drafted the Constitution with a system of checks and balances among three co-equal branches of government. This, by the way, is what makes the American system of government unique among all the nations of the world. It is not having a Bill of Rights – many countries have such charters. It is rather having a system of checks and balances with three co-equal branches of government. In that way, no one branch of government ever become so powerful that it goes unchecked or evades accountability.

The Framers of the Constitution believed that checks and balances is the kind of government that best reflects human nature. One hundred years before Lord Acton made his famous dictum that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” the Framers devised a form of government to curtail the sinful drive for power in each of us. They didn’t approve the consolidation of political power but sought to limit it. No wonder Jefferson could write: “The government which governs best, governs least.”

PUBLIC VIRTUE

In addition to the recognition of human sinfulness, the Framers also affirmed the need for “public virtue” if a republican form of government was to flourish. Madison wrote: “I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom.” And again, he wrote: “Is there no virtue among us? …If there be not, no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea.”

The Framers of the Constitution knew that a government that is strong enough to give you everything you want is also powerful enough to take from you everything you have.

George Washington became the embodiment of public virtue – a kind of Cincinnatus – a gentleman farmer who cast aside self-interest and rose to the demands of his country, first as General of the Continental Army and later as the first President of the United States. King George III was reputed to have said to the royal artist Benjamin West, that if George Washington relinquished the presidency after his second term in office (versus becoming a dictator or monarch) he would be “the greatest character of the age.” Well, Washington did precisely that. After he had served two terms as President, he freely relinquished office, thus establishing the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another

The Framers assumed that the virtue in Washington was present in other people of character and would cause them to rise above private self-interest. They believed further that those empowered to vote had the ability and virtue to recognize these qualities in others. The checks and balances built into the system would serve to block the excesses of those whose public virtue did not match the demands of office. But, virtue in the office holder and in the electorate was necessary for the public good to take precedence over private self-interest.

RELIGION

American Exceptionalism assumes that Americans are a sinful but virtuous people. They are sinful in that selfishness and self-interest can sometimes dominate those who govern and those who are governed. Human beings are not angels, as James Madison knew full well. On the other hand, human beings have the capacity for public virtue – of rising above self-interest and working for the common good, as the late Senator John McCain liked to say, sacrificing for something greater than ourselves. The question then becomes: What is it that sustains public virtue, cultivates statesmanship, and encourages individuals to put the common good above the pursuit of self-interest?

The Framers of the Constitution had no doubt of the answer. They believed that churches and synagogues would help to educate and produce citizens of virtue. As they viewed it, religion was intrinsically linked to public virtue.

Thomas Jefferson, we know, believed that the ultimate test of a religion was whether it produced upright men and women. Shortly before his death, he expressed the view that it would be good if all Americans believed, without compulsion, that there is “only one God, and he all perfect,” and that “there is a future state of rewards and punishments.”

John Adams, on many occasions, expressed the view that religion and morality were linked together. He said, “There is no such thing (morality) without a supposition of a God. There is no right or wrong in the universe without the supposition of a moral government and an intellectual and moral governor.”

James Madison’s views were even more pronounced. Raised an Anglican, he studied Hebrew and moral theology at Princeton University under its president, John Witherspoon, a

Presbyterian minister. From these studies, he held a calm faith in a moral, orderly universe governed by God. In 1825, he summarized his views: “Belief in a God All Powerful wise and good is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources.”

Our challenge in America today is to sustain “public virtue” where an increasing number of people no longer believe in God and even fewer belong to any faith community. Of course, you can be a moral and virtuous human being without believing in God. For example, some of the great social activists in America have been either agnostics or even atheists. Benjamin Franklin recognized this when he said, “A virtuous Heretick shall be saved before a wicked Christian.”

Still, belief in God has been linked to public morality. Part of believing in God is having a heart for people, compassion for the poor, a passion for justice, and a desire to respond to human suffering. Public virtue is what President John Kennedy proclaimed in his inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” This is the willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to respond to the suffering of others and to save the planet from the excesses of our own self-indulgence.

FREEDOM AS SACRED TRUST

The recognition of human sinfulness and the requirement of public virtue were foundational to the Founders in their understanding of freedom. They understood that a for a republic to be successful, its citizens must not just have the freedom to do what they want but the freedom to do what is right. Personal freedom and moral freedom go together, and the link that connected the two was religion. So, unsurprisingly, even nominal Christians, and those who were agnostics and atheists, supported the role of religion as a moral influence the formation of its citizens.

Liberty was to be regulated by the “laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” To win this liberty for themselves and their children, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. These signers of the Declaration of Independence would not betray that pledge, nor those

Jefferson and Madison were right: Religion plays a crucial role in directing our freedom beyond self-interest to a genuine concern for the common good.

Sin, virtue and religion are indispensable in shaping the American system of government. No wonder the Founders regarded freedom as a sacred trust.

committed to Independence. England tried to bribe American generals to stop the conflict. General Reed, of Pennsylvania, replied, “I am not worth purchasing, but poor as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich enough to buy me.” These people could not be bought because they believed freedom a treasure beyond price.

Some of us may have visited Valley Forge where American troops slept in the barest huts, wearing ragged clothes, and at times sustaining themselves on tree bark. In that hard winter of 1777-78, when one-third of Washington’s army died of wounds and starvation, one-third deserted and went home, and one-third stayed with Washington to eventually win victory, there was a time when Washington became so discouraged that he wrote out his resignation to send to the Continental Congress. Then came to his attention a letter written by a boy who had died of wounds. The boy was writing to his mother. He told of the desperate conditions prevailing in the camp and closed his letter with these words: “But we do not doubt for a moment that we will win, because we have as our leader a man of the greatest wisdom and courage, George Washington.”

Washington wept as he read this wonderful compliment, and then tore up his resignation and went to his knees in prayer. With renewed determination, he fought for freedom’s sacred trust.

Ask yourself: What would it have been like if the Founders of our nation refused to sacrifice when the call of duty came their way?

Nathan Hale never saw his 22nd birthday. When caught by the British, he could have betrayed George Washington and lived to a ripe old age. Instead, he chose to die, his last words being, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

Paul Revere could have said: “Why pick on me? It’s the middle of the night. I can’t ride through Middlesex Village. Besides, I’m not the only man in Boston with a horse.” Instead, he rode throughout Boston and the surrounding area calling out, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” He thus gave the patriots time to mobilize and defend themselves.

Patrick Henry could have said, “Yes, I’m for liberty but we must be realistic. We must compromise. We’re small compared to the British and someone is going to get hurt.” Instead, he rose in the Virginia House of Burgess and proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death!”

It is said that freedom must be continually won, or it will be eventually lost. We must never take our freedom for granted. We must never be too busy with our private concerns that we fail to heed the call to sacrifice for the common good.

Benjamin Franklin could have said, “I’m over 75 years old. What you need as a minister to France in these strenuous times is a younger man. Let a new generation take over. I want to rest.” And yet, Franklin managed to persuade the French to enter the war on the side of the Americans and he brilliantly helped negotiate the Treaty of Versailles.

All of us are indebted to those who paid dearly to give us the freedom we now enjoy. How well are we preserving it? A little girl said to her mother, “You know that vase you said had been handed down from generation to generation?”

“Why yes, dear,” replied the mother. “What about it?”

“Well, mother,” said the little girl, “I’m sorry to say that this generation has dropped it.”

The precious, fragile vessel of freedom has been passed down to our generation by God-fearing men and women who founded this land of liberty. Will this generation drop it? Or will we pass on our freedom to future generations? The choice is ours.

The Rev. Dr. Gary Nicolosi

July 4, 2019

Independence Day