Reply #5: That is one heck of a good point. [View All]

To me the idea of America as a divine project is not new. I don't know about others, but the church my parents dove into and foisted upon me as a teenager teaches that it's kind of like the promised land - not just better than any other country, but ordained and sanctioned by God. The Garden of Eden was in Missouri, don'tcha know, and after the Antichrist and Armageddon and the Mormon equivalent of the Rapture and everything's said and done, God's kingdom will be set up right here in the good ol' U S of A. I'm unclear on the sequence and details and how it all fits with Israel also being the promised land, but I do remember this: If you were the best of the best in "the Preexistence" (read: heaven, before anyone was born and we were all sitting around talking about how it would be and oh, by the way, there was also a big battle) you were born here at this time. I was one of the most valiant spirits and you were, too. That's what I was taught.

At the core of all the political arguments I've had with my mother is her refusal to question this notion of America being God's chosen country. It justifies theft, slavery, and genocide - if you insist on calling them by those names.

My mom would read that article and go, "What's wrong with that, besides nothing? Of course we're the chosen people. Deal with it."

I think it's right on, and not just because of my experience with a particular set of religious teachings. They only just dovetail nicely with the basic mythology that I was taught in American public schools.