The historically coined phrase, “Manifest Destiny,” is descriptive of U.S. historic policy in 1845 of America’s aggressive expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It was morally and tactically “legitimized” as compliance with a directive emanating from the Deity. It is noteworthy that such national and cultural aggrandizement was opposed on humanistic and moral grounds by many eminent and revered historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln.
After the responsible publication of 1,021 essays, we feel it deservingly permissible to express our candid beliefs relevant to the source of the historic phrase and its convenient rationalization, purporting to legitimize such colossal aggression and autocratic cultural dominion. It is past time that such ubiquitously asserted, expiation, “faith in a higher power,” relative to plain acts of profound immorality, and inhumanity, be at long last, relegated to the atavistic, irrational, and tactically averred dustbin.
Evolution’s singular emergence of a sentient being functionally encompassed its potential development (by the continuing dynamics of Natural Evolution) to mature, utilitarian, and morally enshrined enlightenment. It is our optimistic credo that, despite the inarguable existence of a plethora of deplorable travesties, past and present, such beneficial dynamic persists, albeit, in a gradual fashion. One may reasonably presume that the developmental journeys of evolution relative to the lizard, salmon, and goldfinch have attained their respective potential destination; however, we are of the view that Man’s potential for critical (and moral) reason has not.
The 17th Century Philosopher and Physician, John Locke, cogently defined the metaphysical basis for epistemology, as empirical; the latter, representative of the “Enlightenment Movement” which, in the (gradual) evolution of the Homo sapiens, constituted an existentially vital and pragmatically useful advance. The latter may be contrasted with the atavistic “Dark Ages” style superstitious belief in superior unseen and unproven forces. As famously declared by John Locke, man is born with a “tabula rasa,” (a clean slate), and the sum of his knowledge is derived from his experience. This philosophical understanding would effectively promote Man’s aspiration for rational enlightenment and consequent progress.
In any didactic review of Man’s past, one may observe the ignorant and fearful understanding of presenting natural phenomena, such as seasons and meteorological events, life, birth, sickness, and death, and the myriad concomitants of human experience, positive or otherwise. The demonstrative example of the pre-historic, widespread specific belief in the “Sun God” suffices as an instructive example of the need to propitiate the unknown source of life and well-being by the ubiquitous ignorant and fearful submission to an omnipotent, and judgmental being.
The era’s perceived source of life, the Sun God, was believed to be dying during the cold months of the year. Except for the miraculous evergreen trees, all vegetation was dead or dying, and the animals were gone, it was seen as a Code-Blue signal that the omnipotent source of life, the Sun God, was in the throes of death. In the areas of Western Europe, during these lifeless winter months, observances of religious rites, notably the ritual of burning the magically green, evergreen trees, proved to be reliably successful in the restoration to life of the dying Sun God. Dare we analogize this prehistoric folkway with the religious concept and belief in the miracle of “Death and Resurrection” and the traditional significance of the unique and magically sustained life of the (evergreen) “Christmas Tree.”
The arrival of Spring was the perennial occasion to celebrate and give thanks for the miracle of the Divine restitution and its restoration to life. The continuing tradition later encompassed the mirthful adoration of jumping bunny rabbits, colorfully painted eggs, and jelly beans. [In all candor, we wonder as to the ancient source of jelly beans.]
The tradition of rendering subservient homage to an intangible and immaterial “higher power,” took on the arrogated obligation in each of its varied folkloric iterations, to proselytize and attempt to exterminate any “errant,” or diverse, mode of superstitious belief by others; the latter, a bloody and historic tradition loudly cascading down through the Centuries and clinically metastasized into our contemporary time. It seems untenable for believers in an ethereal and conceptual conceit of a Divinity of some description, to tolerate other modes of such irrationality; perhaps assuaging the need to buttress or confirm the personal existence of doubtful rectitude. In addition to witch hunts of the European Inquisitions and the 30-Year’s War, there exists an ample historical Cornucopia, of hatred and animus, relevant to all divergent iterations of “faith,” compatible, solely in their coordinated hatred and desire for retribution relative to the “non-believer.”
It may be seen that the cultural “indisputability” of such beliefs, is memorialized by successive inheritance and generationally perceived as culturally, or societally, obligatory and culturally mainstream. Non-believers are deemed to be “outcasts” or, often, dangerous enemies. We will confess that it may be uncomfortable for the reader to override cultural and familial understandings.
A demonstrative and extreme illustration of the animus, simply created by variations in belief is exemplified by a known, seemingly eternal, bloody conflict, in the Muslim world. The conflict, remarkably, dating back to the 7th Century, has concerned the religious dispute between Sunni Islam, (for example, Saudi Arabia) and Shia Islam, Iran) concerning the dogmatic issue of whether the Prophet Mohammad is properly to be succeeded by inheritance ( I.e., birth, as in England) or by popular vote.
The observance of these diverse, contextual, and archaic beliefs and observances has long ago, clinically metastasized and descended to our contemporary world, generally, and our “advanced” and “enlightened” Nation, inflicting a blemish on the fundamental American assertions of liberty of thought and action. Despite the unmistakably express declarations of our “Founders” regarding the fundamental secularity of the newly created Nation and the clear and specific provisions of the “Establishment Clause,” of the Constitution (providing that government is prohibited from any role in religion), populist citizens have eternally maintained that America was created to be a “Christian Nation.” Prejudicial expressions of the same are evidenced by the un-American White Christian Militias, and too many ardent evangelical and misled religious sycophants. We have suffered the undemocratic imposition of Blue Laws, abortion restrictions, and the official practice of gender discrimination. The egregious harm to life and liberty is far too numerous to document.
Returning to the anthropological subject of the fundamental evolutionary advancement of the Homo sapiens, it is irrefutably observed that retrogressive belief in the “supernatural” has not resulted in peace or humanistic advance or benefit. Superstitious belief is not the source of the discovery of penicillin, the cure for polio, the academic disciplines of mathematics, language, and science.
The dark, blinding, handicapping hood of irrational servitude to an external, judgmental, and omnipotent, entity, admittedly culturally painful, must be lifted from mankind’s ability to freely and constructively reason, so that evolving humanity may attain its ultimate goal of enlightened empirical thought and the long-awaited establishment of universal and principled justice.
-p.
plinyblogdotcom 