Weekly Quote: Winthrop on America & God

For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. Soe that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.
- John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, "A Modell of Christian Charity," discourse written aboard the Arbella during the voyage to Massachusetts in 1630

One of the more obscure figures in American history, John Winthrop may be one of the least famous people every American should know something about. Winthrop was instrumental in shaping what came to be known as the "puritan" attitude in American culture and politics. For better or for worse, this attitude or inclination has remained with us in various forms and will probably continue to do so through the foreseeable future.

If people know about Winthrop at all, it is likely through his 1630 "Christian Charity" sermon quoted above in which he expressed the defining metaphor of America as "a City upon a Hill." Puritans regarded themselves as a "new Israel," repeating the biblical story of Exodus by establishing a "City on the Hill" in a "new Canaan" where a purer form of Christianity could develop and which would serve as a moral and religious beacon for the rest of the world.

This righteous society was destined by God to accomplish great things and defeat great evil — an idea which found considerable political expression in the concept of Manifest Destiny. Although the religious aspects of this vision have lessened over time in the words of various politicians, they have not disappeared altogether and its basic ideas remain prominent in American social and political life. More secular Americans inherited and transformed it, treating America not simply as a place where a pure form of Christianity could develop but also as a place from which religion and civilization could be spread to the rest of the world. With the help of divine providence, America could light the path so that other less enlightened nations should follow (even if they have to be dragged along by force).

In Winthrop's day that mission was to Christianize the world with Puritan Christianity. In the 1800s that mission was secularized to include "civilize" the world alongside "Christianizing" it. Today, aside from conservative evangelical Christians, America as a "city on the hill" now has the mission to "democratize" the world, bringing to everyone the values of democracy and capitalism. The words change and there are shifts in the concepts, but when you look closely at what is going on the similarities are far greater and more instructive than the differences.

More than one person has argued that what is particularly shocking about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers is that Americans "should be better." This is not so much because all humans should be better but instead because Americans in particular have a "duty" to be better than everyone else. What many may not realize is that this attitude has a very specific heritage in American Puritanism.

Here are some examples of how various individuals have described America as a "bright hope of humanity":

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
- Jesus, from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:14-16.

"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses . . ."
- John Winthrop, aboard the Arbella, 1630

As Ronald Reagan emphasized, America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere."
- Michael Reagan, "The City on A Hill: Fulfilling Ronald Reagan’s Vision For America".

"The destiny of the American People is to subdue the continent, to unite the world in one social family. ... Divine task! Immortal mission! America leads the host of nations as they ascend to this order of civilization. ...the industrial conquest of the world."
- William Gilpin, Governor of Colorado Territory, 1846.

Ronald Reagan's farewell address:'I’ve spoken of the Shining City all my political life. …In my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.'"
- Amos Kiewe and Davis W. Houck, "A Shining City on a Hill. Ronald Reagan's Economic Rhetoric, 1951-1989"

'America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world."
- George W. Bush's address to the nation on September 11, 2001

"Wherever you go, you carry a message of hope - a message that is ancient and ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'To the captives, "come out," and to those in darkness, "be free"."
- George W. Bush's message to the troops when he announced victory in Iraq.

The US is actually a very good place. [Or more to the point, a good concept.] For years, it has been the bright hope of humanity. To see this kinda crap tarnish that will eventually be a huge blow to anyone whose family came here to escape abuses like this. ... You may feel these standards are unattainable for your country, but I do not feel the same way about mine. We must have higher standards than everyone else in matters such as these. Anything else is acceptance of mediocrity, and that is not in our national character.
- Forum Member

The identification of evil forces which the country can oppose has become an integral part of what it means to be an American. The defeat of forces of evil is what allows the United States to retain its image as a beacon of hope for the oppressed around the world. The establishment of free political systems in place of totalitarian systems is what allows the United States to maintain its legitimate link to the ancient republican and democratic traditions. The role of "enemy" has, at various times, been filled by Native Americans, imperial European powers, the Nazis, the communists and, today, world terrorism.

Framing the United States as a "City on the Hill" or "bright hope of humanity" causes it to stop being just a nation and to become, in addition, a religion. American soldiers are thus portrayed as having entered Iraq not only to liberate its people from a dictator, but also from darkness. American soldiers become missionaries for the True Faith - the True American Faith. Instead of simply killing terrorists and insurgents, they also cast out demons. Americans themselves are not simply citizens of a nation or even of a great nation; instead, they are the "chosen people," blessed for living in the "chosen land" where a the divine project for humanity has reached its highest fulfillment.

The character of the American people and American politics simply cannot be understood without also understanding this particular attitude. It is so deeply ingrained in America that most people are completely unaware of it — especially more secular-minded Americans who believe they have rid themselves of many traditional religious beliefs. This passionately held, religious faith in American exceptionalism and the American duty to bring the Light to the rest of the world leads to a messianic fervor that encourages chauvinistic, aggressive contempt for those who fail to believe with the same fervor. Anatol Lieven writes in America Right Or Wrong: An Anatomy Of American Nationalism :

“[I]f the Message is self-evidently true, universal and universally apprehendable, then any failure cannot be due to the Message. It must be due to some failure on the part of the audience, whether because of innate wickedness or because its collective heart has been hardened by some wicked agents: manipulating nationalist elites, former communists, emissaries of Satan...”

It would be very difficult for such attitudes to develop in other nations. Countries like Germany and France have national identities that are founded upon historic, cultural, and ethnic traditions that cannot be exported. The German government cannot bring the "Light" of what it means to be "German" to other nations. In America, though, national identity is founded on creedal beliefs and ideology that can (in theory) be exported. What it means to be "American" is not seen as conditioned by particular ethnic or local traditions; it is, instead, seen as ideas about democracy and liberty that could be adopted by absolutely anyone.

Of course, situations like those for France and Germany can lead to their own forms of chauvinism — for example, because no one can every be "really" French or German without being born here and being raised in our traditions, everyone else is inferior. The problem I am highlighting is that the American situation is at least as likely to lead to chauvinism even though many believe that it is a situation that would exclude it. It seems that those who believe themselves immune to certain "sins" are among the first to fall victim to their baser motives and tendencies.

More Weekly Quotes: commentary and analysis each week on a different quotation dealing with philosophy, religion, and more.