As a student of American history and a staunch liberal, I have often been distressed at the antipathy held toward this country by many of my ideological brethren. This distrust of and anger toward the United States is hardly new among the left wing; indeed, to a certain degree it is quite healthy, as only through criticism can the integrity of any institution vested with human authority be preserved. What's more, the American government has done quite a bit during its history to justify much of this ill will. Nevertheless, I sometimes suspect that the origin of much of this anti-American sentiment can be found in a problem diagnosed by Abraham Lincoln when he was a Whig state representative in Illinois.
"This field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already appropriated. But new reapers will arise, and they, too, will seek a field. It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. And, when they do, they will as naturally seek the gratification of their ruling passion, as others have so done before them. The question then, is, can that gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Most certainly it cannot. Many great and good men sufficiently qualified for any task they should undertake, may ever be found, whose ambition would inspire to nothing beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential chair; but such belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle. What! Think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon? Never! Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored. It sees no distinction in adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected to the memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough to serve under any chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps of any predecessor, however illustrious. It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible, it will have it...
"Distinction will be his paramount object, and although he would as willingly, perhaps more so, acquire it by doing good as harm; yet, that opportunity being past, and nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down."
For those who, consciously or subconsciously, fall into the category described above by Lincoln, I have little sympathy and even less desire to accommodate. The grievances of such individuals are mere pretenses for their deeper and much more unsavory aspirations, and their desire to loathe this nation will be forever impervious to reason, since their hatred is only a means unto an end rather than an end in itself. For, however, those liberals who have become genuinely jaded with the course that their country has taken in recent years, I offer another solution. When most modern students explore their nation's past, they see a litany of transgressions, hypocrisies, corruptions and oppressions. Lacking the context of a broader view of human history as it has occurred across the globe and throughout time, and afflicted with what Jimmy Carter insightfully referred to as a "crisis of confidence," these liberals develop a sincere resentment toward this country.
For these individuals, I do believe I have a solution: redeem America by exploring, through a series of vignettes, events in our nation's past wherein major historical figures behaved in a way that was decisively liberal, and thus worthy of admiration. Since I could never hope to effectively do this in the space allotted to me in a single editorial, I shall instead strive for this goal in a series, appropriately titled "The Liberal Nation." If liberals are ever to regain power in this country, they must first fight one of the most grotesque myths currently existing in American political discourse - the lie that conservatives represent true American values, and liberals wish to betray them.
Spatial constrictions prevent me from further elaborating on this point, but allow me to end this article with a query: Does the sentiment expressed below - the idea upon which our entire nation has been founded, and which makes it distinct from every other civilization on the globe - sound like one best adhered to by the political right, or by the ones they so brazenly attack on a regular basis?
We "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Matt Rozsa is a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences and writes a column of historical vignettes for The Eagle.
