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Wednesday, November 23, 2005On giving thanks...Instapundit points to the thoughts of a not very grateful Robert Jensen. Says Jensen, we oughtn't be giving thanks, but making apologies: One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.Jensen would have us atone, of course, for the extirpation of Native American culture. And why not? Our "interactions" with the Indians do not constitute the proudest moments of our history. But... In reading Jensen, one does not find the balanced view that unnuanced Yankee Doodle Dandies miss; one merely finds its counterpoint. Instead of "My country, right or wrong," Jensen offers, "My country's always wrong." Acknowledging the barbarism that punctuates all of human history, we must contemplate the strong possiblity of imperfection on our part. But though we have much to atone for, we do, also, have much to be grateful for. Jensen worries about the uses of history, fretting that a dolled-up version of the origins of the USA gives the wrong impression in assessing our motives in Iraq. Fair enough. But so does a version of history which magnifies our wrongs and explains away the progress we have made. Jensen falls into the same error as the jingoists, implying that history has an absolute value and that the moral credentials of a people across history can be readily assessed. In reality, however, history is not a question of fact, but of interpretation. Like a traveler without a map, the historian can only assess where we are in relation to where we've been. And lacking a specific destination (the end of history doesn't count), we must refer to extra-historical markers - our particular values - to decide whether our history represents progress or retrogression. Jensen would have had me, had he called for a Day of Reflection, a moment to contemplate what this country of ours means to us - where it brings us joy and pride, where it brings shame and sadness. But Jensen's Day of Atonement represents something different. For all his laments about the powerful imposing an understanding of history, it shows that his true resentment is in not being powerful enough to impose his understanding. Whether you call it Thanksgiving and savor America's divine bounty or call it a Day of Atonement and lament America's ill-gotten spoils, you are imposing meaning on the rest of the country. A Day of Reflection would allow us to escape the impositions of the powerful, forming our own meaning. But perhaps, just perhaps, this would remind that we are in a society where you can not only think thoughts against but write articles savaging our evil founding fathers. And then you might feel, God forbid, gratitude for living in a country where you can publish diatribes about the evil government with your name on them for all the world to see with your greatest fear being nasty commenters. My own particular view, using my own particular yardsticks, is that we live in a nation that exterminated Native American culture, then used its only unique holiday to celebrate one of the few happy interactions with it. A nation founded on the principle that all men are created equal, then had to fight a war with itself before accepting that maybe it really meant it, but which did fight that war and start the still-ongoing effort to right the wrongs that were done and create a freer, fairer society for all. A society that eventually decided all women were created equal too, even letting them vote, though a few states are still coming to terms with the ramifications of this. A nation that exterminated Indian culture because Manifest Destiny gave us the divine right to do so, but which boasts today of liberating nations, getting the hell out and leaving people to their own destinies as soon as possible (and the America as liberator idea goes way back to the World Wars). Ours is a nation of affirming hypocrisies: When we see the embarrassment of our old ways, we do our damnedest to live them down and align ourselves with what we'd like our nation to be. It's a tedious and arduous process, rife with heroes who slaughtered indiscriminately, thugs in white hoods and colored-only drinking fountain signs. But it's also a process with people overturning, repudiating and moving beyond these embarrassments. We are a society whose proudest defining moments are those where more people were made free, then empowered to grow, to learn and to prosper. A society distinctly uncomfortable with itself about those who were held back, or whom we might still be holding back. Though there is much yet to do, there is much that has been done. The promise of America is that we have a tendency to do what must be done to remain a symbol of freedom and hope, at least for those oppressed and hungry, if no longer for a bloated and declining Europe. We are a self-correcting society, manifestly imperfect but slowly reconciling ourselves to the tasks necessary to be what we would imagine we already are. Because of our society's ability to grow and to evolve, what Reagan said remains true, giving not only cause for hope but a reminder that complacency is not in order: America's best days are yet to come. The question of where we have been, where we are headed and in what direction we really want to go should give us pause for reflection. That we can discuss it openly and freely, celebrating our triumphs and lamenting our failures and lapses, gives us much to be thankful for. May your Thanksgiving be filled with gratitude and reflection - and family, friends and food to your taste. 
posted by gbarto at 8:58 AM |
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