This is a delayed response to the recent outpouring of commentary about "American exceptionalism" which was undoubtedly inspired by the exchange between Obama and Putin on the subject. Obama believes that the US is special because of its willingness to sacrifice blood and treasure to help others. Putin's response was to warn that it is dangerous to encourage people to think of themselves as exceptional because it may encourage dangerous behavior in international affairs.
We think that neither Obama nor Putin understands the one true meaning of American exceptionalism. It has nothing to do with jingoistic feelings of superiority or sentiments of national feel-good or cultural pride. Put simply, it is the belief, grounded in the Declaration, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution that there is a person called a "citizen" and that citizen is the sovereign who controls all rights (whether they come from God, or Nature's God) about how to live one's life. To secure individual rights, and adjudicate conflicting rights, sovereign citizens rights are loaned on a temporary basis to organized entities like governments, and they may be withdrawn whenever citizens feel that their sovereignty is being ignored. We believe that the Occupy Movement and Tea Party Movement are examples of citizens acting to take back their sovereignty.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment