¶ … Roots of the Feeling of Moral Superiority in the U.S.
The United States has been criticized in recent years for assuming an air of moral superiority and for trying to impose their opinions on the rest of the world. Even when the tragedy of September 11 happened, some countries were happy to see America suffer. Why would they hate us? Partly it might be because they envy the wealth and freedom that American citizens have. It is also because they think Americans believe they are always in the right, (my country, right or wrong). Did this attitude emerge with the founding fathers? We can see American attitudes to ourselves and also to other countries in non-fiction and fiction of the first two centuries, from the 1770's to the 1970's.
In "Common Sense," 1776, Thomas Paine declared "Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America...The Almighty hath implanted in us these inextinguishable feelings for good and wise purposes. They are the guardians of His image in our hearts. They distinguish us from the herd of common animals." (III. "Thoughts on the present state of American affairs"; www.bartleby.com-see
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Here he is saying that the Revolution is pre-ordained and that the moral right is held by the Colonies. In his Epistle to the Quakers, he contradicts their loyalist/pacifist sentiments by saying, "We view our enemies in the character of highwaymen and housebreakers." (as above). So Paine's view is that it is ordained by God that the colonies rebel, and that they are totally justified, and, even more significantly, that any enemy of the colonies is a criminal. Here we see the beginning of the mindset that has...
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