"Un-American"

How many times have you heard the phrase "un-American" get bandied about in debates? How many times have you heard someone say that anyone who disagrees with his or her opinion must "hate America?"

Consider how ridiculous this must be to people outside of the United States. I've never heard anyone in Canada refer to someone as "un-Canadian." While I might dislike the policies of prime minister Stephen Harper, I would never suggest that he "hates Canada." Likewise, have you ever heard some from the UK refer to someone as "un-British?" Or a Swede refer to someone as "un-Swedish?" Or a Russian calling someone "un-Russian?" But in America, the phrase "un-America" is commonly used (such as the infamous House Committee on Un-American Activities) and I can't count the number of times I've heard phrases like "Why Do Liberals Hate America?" or "If you hate America, vote Republican." This idea, that your political opponents are somehow guilty of treason, is the sort of thing I'd expect from a totalitarian dictatorship, not a democratic republic.

I'm going to talk about something that might seem rather unrelated. I have these two friends on Facebook; one is an American who moved to Canada, the other is a family member who happens to be a deeply pious Christian. These two individuals have nothing in common except that the former is always sharing quotes from the Founding Fathers or the Federalist Papers, and the latter is always sharing quotes from the Bible. It struck me just how similar these two behaviours are, one patriotic, one religious. America doesn't have religion - America is a religion. I'm still waiting for the day when someone publishes a version of the Federalist Papers with chapter and verse numbers for easy quoting.

Americans hold beliefs about their country with a religious-like fervour. They accept things on faith in spite of a complete lack of evidence, or even evidence to the contrary. They just "know" that Obama is a Muslim, a socialist, or not an American citizen. They just "know" that tax cuts for the rich benefit everyone, they just "know" that more guns make us safer, and they just "know" that the rich are well-off because of their hard work, while the poor inhabit their lowly station on account of their laziness and irresponsibility. There's no point in debating things with Americans, because there can be no debate. Everyone is dead certain about everything.

One of the reasons I consider organised religion to be a baleful influence on society is that it has a highly-divisive, us-versus-them mentality. You're either one of the faithful or an infidel. A righteous believer or a damnable heathen. In the religion of America, you're either with us or against us. Love America or leave it. Everything must be politicised, everything fractures along political fault lines. I'm sure most of you have heard of Godwin's Law - that in any discussion the probability of mentioning Hitler or the Nazis approaches one. Well I'd like to lay down Dr. Atomic's law: that in any discussion among Americans, the probability of the discussion turning political approaches one. Take two Americans discussing something as trivial as leaving the toilet seat up or down, and I guarantee you that it won't be long before they're calling each other a "gun-toting, Bible-thumping Republican" or "Bleeding-heart liberal Democrat."

And just like how religions have holy texts and sacred figures, so to does the American religion. The Founding Fathers are considered more than men, whose words carry the very essence of the divine and must not be questioned. Consider how many works of art there are that depicting George Washington ascending as a god:

Admiring the founders of your nation is one thing, but acting like they're figures worthy of godhood is the sort of thing I'd expect from North Korea. As an non-American, I find the sheer level of worship Americans have for their constitution and Founding Fathers to be utterly baffling. The idea that Washington, Jefferson, Hamiliton, et. al. could have been wrong, or that they could not have foreseen the issues of today, is greeted with utter derision. Just like how fundamentalist Christians can shake their fists and point to some passage from the Bible to prove that you're going to hell, Americans will point to the relevant passage in the constitution or Federalist Papers to prove some political point. Want gun control? Well, the Second Amendment says that the "Right to bear arms shall not be infringed" so you're clearly wrong. In favour of government regulation? Well, Washington said that "Goverment, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master" so your opinion is invalid. And so on.

When ideas become dogma, truth is the ultimate loser. And the truth is that America in a state of decline, possibly an irreversible one, and yet there is no debate, no self-reflection or self-examination. Elections in America came down to holding one's nose and picking Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee; representatives for parties that do not substantially differ from one another. As Gore Vidal said, America has one party with two right wings. If you think Barack Obama is a "progressive" who is going to bring "change" then you are simply deluding yourself. The only president in recent times who called for any sort of self-examination of American values was Jimmy Carter, who said:

"In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose."

Powerful words, but were Americans convinced to give up their indulgent, consumerist lifestyle after hearing them? No, of course not, any more than JFK's "Ask not what your country..." speech convinced them to live lives of selfless civil service. President Carter was soundly defeated in the 1980 election and replaced by Ronald Reagan, who told people what they wanted to hear, that it was "Morning in America." Is that truly any different from Obama claiming that "America is back?"