Deconstructing America
Deconstructing America Patrick J. Buchanan is a conservative, political voice in the United States today. The article Deconstructing America is from his 2007 book, Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed Are Tearing America Apart. I chose this article because it is one of the ones my group looked closely at in class, and I feel like I understand it more than other articles we read after talking it out with them.
"The United States, the greatest republic since Rome and the British Empire may be said to have risen from that three-cornered fort the Jamestown settlers began to build the day they arrived. But that republic and that empire did not rise because the settlers and those who followed believed in diversity, equality, and democracy." I read this part of his article, and it just totally made me rethink America. Diversity, equality, and democracy were three things that America was founded for. But in true practice, the settlers did not truly believe in any of those characteristics. It was an "us-them" kind of thing. English settlers believed in their superiority in the Christian faith, culture, and civilization and rejected any differences with cannons and swords. And America has continued to challenge different groups throughout history, just in different ways.
Buchanan says "America is today less a nation than an encampment of ........ politics and power." And I realized that he's totally right. We learned the definition of a nation is my Pols class, and it says "a nation is a grouping of people who share real or imagined common history, culture, language or ethnic origin." When the colonists first came over and forced their beliefs and culture onto other groups, we were a nation. A messed up one. But, we were united. The United States is, today, the farthest country from a nation. What once held us together, today pulls us apart. We have no common language, no common faith, no common heritage anymore.
"The United States, the greatest republic since Rome and the British Empire may be said to have risen from that three-cornered fort the Jamestown settlers began to build the day they arrived. But that republic and that empire did not rise because the settlers and those who followed believed in diversity, equality, and democracy." I read this part of his article, and it just totally made me rethink America. Diversity, equality, and democracy were three things that America was founded for. But in true practice, the settlers did not truly believe in any of those characteristics. It was an "us-them" kind of thing. English settlers believed in their superiority in the Christian faith, culture, and civilization and rejected any differences with cannons and swords. And America has continued to challenge different groups throughout history, just in different ways.
Buchanan says "America is today less a nation than an encampment of ........ politics and power." And I realized that he's totally right. We learned the definition of a nation is my Pols class, and it says "a nation is a grouping of people who share real or imagined common history, culture, language or ethnic origin." When the colonists first came over and forced their beliefs and culture onto other groups, we were a nation. A messed up one. But, we were united. The United States is, today, the farthest country from a nation. What once held us together, today pulls us apart. We have no common language, no common faith, no common heritage anymore.