What’s wrong with America in 2020?
America finds itself confronted with many challenges such as racial discrimination and a viral pandemic in 2020. These issues while dire are not the real problem confronting America in the 21st century. Rather they are consequences of the general decline in Republican virtues in America. Our current culture wars fail to understand the basic problem confronting us is a failure to frame the issue correctly. Gay rights might conflict with Christian morality, but they have little to do with republican virtue. This essay article attempts to define Republican Virtue while challenging narratives common on the American right. Let’s first begin with the idea of America as a “Christian nation” posited by the American right.
The Myth of a Christian Nation
Christian countries played a leading role in the colonization of the early United States, but I find the idea we were founded as a Christian Nation absurd. Benjamin Franklin the most famous American alive at the time was a noted philanderer more than a “good Christian.” This general lack of good “Christians” seems to be a pretty common theme. Benjamin Franklin and Washington were not “good Christians” but they were good Free Masons. Masonry requires belief in God from its members not belief in Jesus. As a result, it seems more apt to call America a monotheistic nation than a Christian nation.
This monotheism allowed our founders to draw from different cultures and thinkers who shared a monotheistic outlook. In other words, it allowed them to transcend the boundaries of one religion with the universal religion. Writings such as the Ethics of Baruch Spinoza describe the virtue our founders envisioned. Christianity possesses no monopoly on virtue and consequently, the idea we should be a Christian nation is absurd. Yet, somehow the American right sees our national salvation in becoming a Christian nation. This idea finds much stock among modern religious fundamentalists who take biblical allegory far too literally for their own good. Being a good Christian has precious little to do with why we should select a leader. The conceit of Christian fundamentalists gave us a man who fails to qualify as a “good Christian.” It’s time to find a new criterion for selecting our leaders than “Christianity.”
What transcends Christianity?
We must transcend Christianity with Philosophy, a genuine love of wisdom. The only question we must when casting our votes is if the person we are voting for is wise. For too long we have selected leaders based on partisan considerations or petty personal considerations. This corrupts elections by removing the most important criteria from consideration. Does this man have the wisdom to rule?
The President of the United States can destroy the world in an instant, yet rather than appointing the wisest among us, we elect fools. Both candidates of either party have manifest deficiencies that should preclude them from our highest executive office. Yet, we have no one to blame but our own focus on petty problems. The only path we should consider is the wisest path for our nation. Whether that course is socialism or capitalism, we need leaders with the wisdom to decide the best course of action. For example, no matter what your position on climate changes the wise course of action appears to be investing in alternative energy. Yet, our current administration considers its manifest folly the best course of action. The basic problem with American politics is that it excels at picking unwise leaders like Donald Trump.
How can we pick wise leaders for America?
