Letter From America (About Obama's Messianic Pretensions)

Obama’s Unforced Errors on Foreign Policy

In Syria and Libya, human nature has proven to Obama that ‘history’ does not have a mind of its own.

By George Will
National Review Online


When Barack Obama moves two miles from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to 2446 Belmont Road in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood, he will live half a mile from 2340 S Street, where Woodrow Wilson spent his three post-presidential years. Wilson’s embittering foreign policy failure was the Senate’s rejection of the U.S. participation in the embodiment of Wilsonian aspirations, the League of Nations. Obama leaves office serene because “almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago.”

Two seemingly unimpressed nations are Russia, which is dismembering a European nation (Ukraine) and China, which is shredding international law by turning the world’s most important waterway, the South China Sea, into militarized Chinese territory.

Obama’s policies that brought America to a pinnacle of admiration, as he sees it, were an amalgam of Wilsonian and anti-Wilsonian elements. Wilson’s grand ambition for America was to reorder the world in a way that would make it unnecessary for America to have grand ambitions. He thought America could lead a restful life after strenuous diplomacy had written rules for the game of nations.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From Moscow

American Jesus

Douglas Wilson

Blog&Magblog

I have written about American exceptionalism before, and so let me begin with a quick review of my take in the first paragraph. Taken one way, the notion is just ten more pounds of idolatrous silliness. Every great nation at the top of its game — and there have been lots — knows how to bask in Ozymandian conceits, and there is nothing whatever exceptional about that. This is as old as dirt, and twice as dumb.

There was a time, however, early on, when the greatness of the United States was looming large on the horizon, when the Founders established a form of government built on the rock solid constitutional footing of a profound distrust of Americans. This is because Americanism is no different from all the other forms of mendacity, and the Founders knew we were no different. That kind of humility really is exceptional. Checks and balances, separation of powers, a doctrine of enumerated powers, were not established because they were anticipating a Klingon invasion. Above all else, the Founders sought to defend America from Americans. And looking at the band of miscreants running this goon show of ours now — most of whom were born within these borders, and educated far past their intelligence with your tax dollars — one is hard pressed to say the Founders were unduly suspicious.

Another Military Misadventure Coming Up

How to Put Stars on the Banner of ISIS

There are few things more dangerous than when politicians get smitten with nationalistic hubris, replete with lumps in throats and tears on cheeks, whilst they are deciding or voting on military affairs.

In the US House of Representatives a recent vote was taken as to whether the Congress would approve the arming of "moderate" Syrian rebels.  Despite all the evidence and experience of disastrous outcomes of decisions to arm such groups in the past, the House duly voted to approve the action.  Can politicians really be this dumb?  Yes they can.

But not all.  Some of those who voted "no" explained their reasons.  Their justification for voting against the resolution to arm the "moderate" Syrian rebels shows up their yea-saying colleagues to be dumb, dumber and dumbest.  Here are the words of Justin Amash, a so-called Tea-partying congressman:

Douglas Wilson's Letter From Moscow

An American Drubbing

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2013  

By Douglas Wilson 

Blog and Mablog

I have been addressing, from time to time, the tomfool notion of American exceptionalism.

The central point I have made thus far is that the genuine exceptionalism displayed by the Founders consisted of the fact that they knew that Americans were not exceptional, which was exceptional. They built a form of government that sought to take the venality of all our current and future statesman into account, which was a marvel of prescience.

Having said as much, repeatedly, I want to come at this beast from another angle. Before doing so, allow me to state some of my bona fides. I love apple pie, I own a Winchester 30-30, and I have warm spot in my heart for red-checked tablecloths. I am a loyal son of the Republic, and wish to demonstrate my good will in this matter by giving American exceptionalism a good, old-fashioned American drubbing.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From Moscow

President of Presidents

Posted on Saturday, September 14, 2013  

By Douglas Wilson 

Blog and Mablog 

I want to begin this exhortation with two qualifications. The first is that I know you have heard this point from me before. But as Paul says in Philippians, to repeat the same things over again is not a trouble to me, and it is helpful to you. Secondly, this is a word to Americans—and I know that not all of you here are Americans. You are nevertheless invited to listen in, and there are truths here that any believer may apply, making the necessary adjustments as you go.

As the recent op-ed by Vladimir Putin showed, the assumption of American exceptionalism is offensive to him. But because he is a former KGB thug, we shouldn’t really care that it is offensive to him. What we should care about is the way in which this manner of speaking might be offensive to God.

Letter From America (About Foreign Relations Personality Disorder)

Stop using taxpayer money to aid Egypt's Morsy

By Senator Rand Paul, Special to CNN

July 2, 2013 -- Updated 1635 GMT 

Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy hold sticks and wear protective gear during training outside a mosque in Cairo on Tuesday, July 2. Counterprotests erupted after anti-Morsy demonstrators demanded that Morsy resign and threatened to march on the presidential palace if he doesn't step down Tuesday evening.

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rand Paul: Why is the U.S. supporting Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy?
• Paul: I argued that Morsy is not someone the U.S. should necessarily embrace
• He says despite Egyptians' discontent with Morsy, we continue to give him aid
• Paul: What kind of example do we set when we side with the enemies of freedom?

Editor's note: Rand Paul, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Kentucky.

(CNN) -- On the one-year anniversary of President Mohammed Morsy's inauguration, tens of thousands of Egyptians marched in the streets of Cairo in an effort to remove him from office.  The Associated Press described the protesters as "an array of secular and liberal Egyptians, moderate Muslims, Christians — and what the opposition says is a broad sector of the general public that has turned against the Islamists."

You would think these protesters represent an Egypt more favorable or in line with American interests. Unfortunately, our government supports the current regime of Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Using the Bible as Pretext

The Bible Belongs to Christ

A recent piece in the National Review Online by Dennis Prager has taken the National Church of Scotland to task for anti-semitism. That church has come out with a new report on Israel which Prager alleges represents "a combination of medieval anti-Judaism and leftist anti-Zionism".  

We have not read the report (which has now been taken off the church's website for re-editing) and we acknowledge that the Church of Scotland long ceased ceased to be a reliable guide on things taught in the Bible, having been racked with Enlightenment rationalism and humanist, epistemic autonomy.  Nevertheless, it is Prager's rejection and rejoinder to the Church of Scotland's report which is worth reflecting upon.  

There are at least three assertions made in the report which Prager reacts to:

. . . But Not As We Know It, Jim

 A Strange Kind of Nation Building

It was going to take over twenty-five years, we were told.  But Afghanistan would be a different kind of war.  Sure, there would be the usual conflict with insurgents, campaigns against the Taliban and those seeking to overthrow the corrupt government in Kabul.  But, more importantly, it would be a war with a human face, a face moulded around an idealist, even utopian belief in human rights. 

This war would be unlike dirty wars, fought over filthy lucre and oil.  This was to be a pure war.  A war worth fighting.  This war would lead to better things.  Out of it all, over the long term, over a quarter of a century's ministrations by the idealistic humanitarianism of the West, a new nation would emerge.

Consequently, President Obama grandiloquently intoned, it was the war we had to have.

Reactions From the Hive

Swarms Over Stockman

We published several days ago an extended argument by David Stockman about the economic catastrophe looming in the United States.  Until recently Stockman was a Washington insider, but now not so much.  The establishment has turned upon him.  No surprises there. 

What is interesting to note is the style of argumentation and rebuttal Stockman has faced.  The upshot is that he stands unscathed and the establishment reveals itself to be as intellectually bankrupt as it has made the country fiscally bankrupt.

The Financial Times reviews the reaction:

A New Kind of American Exceptionalism

Money, Debt, and Borrowing Can Be Infinite

History has presented us with numerous gadflies, but few so spooky as Nero who played his fiddle while Rome burned in a great conflagration.  Presumably he was amused and entertained by the spectacle of such destruction.

But when it comes to spooky "gadflyness" the recent, sage pronouncements of New York Mayor Bloomberg rival Nero's inanity.  Whatever other inadequacies Mayor Bloomberg might labour under, profound ignorance of the history of human civilisation must rank right up there.  Assuming the media report is accurate, it is hard to credit such folly to the man.

In the first place Mayor Bloomberg was attempting to assuage the fear of an impending collapse due to the US government cutting back on some government spending.  Apocalyptic fears had to be calmed.  Enter Mayor Bloomberg:

Perpetual War

The Desolations of Smaug

The United States has a fascination with war--of two kinds.  The first is the traditional kind--namely, armed conflict.  There has been scarcely a single year in the last half-century when the US has not been involved in armed conflict somewhere on the globe.  This global warfare is underpinned by the crass and wicked idolatries of notions such as "American exceptionalism", America as the city of light on a hill bring truth, justice and the American way to all peoples on earth, and America as the defender of the oppressed, the weak, and the downtrodden, and so forth. 

The end of the Cold War was supposed to result in a Peace Dividend--which was a coy way of saying that military spending could wane, and tax monies could be put towards social services.  Actually, military spending continued to ratchet up.  Being the world's policeman has perpetual and escalating costs, which currently are being funded by borrowing.  Good luck with that.  Idols of all kinds eventually become a crushing weight upon a people: morally, spiritually, and fiscally.  (During the period of decline of the Roman Empire, for example, about the only sector of commerce that was vibrantly growing was that associated with the various cults of the pantheon of idols.)  If the US military were ever to retrench back to being an ordinary, national defensive enterprise, the negative impact upon US economic growth would be considerable. Idols are expensive to erect, maintain, and worship.  National idols even more so. 

But the second kind of war is also costly and equally vain.

Douglas Wilson's Letter From America

But America Isn't Jesus 

Obama Nation Building
Written by Douglas Wilson
Tuesday, 23 October 2012

The most apropos tweet concerning the debate last night came from John Piper: "Obama: America, the only indispensable nation. Romney: America, the hope of the earth. This does focus our prayers for them." I want to get to that in a moment, but first let me just affirm the consensus that appears to be developing.

Romney is clearly husbanding a lead, and Obama was trying to catch up. Romney was acting like an incumbent, and Obama was acting like a challenger. Romney was happy to wait out the round in a clinch, and Obama wanted (and needed) a knock out blow that he didn't get.

Disappointment

The One Indispensable Nation

The Commentariat is reported to be deeply disappointed by the Arab Spring.  Those poor Arab people have misunderstood our good intentions and our help in throwing out the bad guys.  But since this is just a misunderstanding, we will work harder at clarifying our intentions and good motives.  We will win them over in the end. 

But the Arab Spring has come and gone.  We are now in a fierce hot summer storm of riots protesting against the West in general and the US in particular all across the Muslim world. 

Firstly, let's just note the naive foolishness of the "useful idiots" in the West who actually believed that the Arab Spring would produce Muslims who would think like Western secular post-Christian human rights idealists.  This from the Reuters wire:

Douglas Wilson's Letter From America

Obama's Red Rubber Nose 

Political Dualism - Mere Christendom
Written by Douglas Wilson
Monday, 17 September 2012

I want to begin by acknowledging what all right-minded observers ought to know by now, which is that Obama's foreign policy approach is a clownfest. And if that is the case, and it is, his Middle East bureau would be the red rubber nose.

It is as if somebody decided to take a mash-up of a Tom Wolfe novel and a Walker Percy novel, get a gifted cartoonist from Marvel or DC, get him on drugs, and then ask him to draw a riveting story of a celebrity president who goes to Vegas in the middle of a Mediterranean meltdown.

In other words, if someone wanted to convince me that the Obama administration is right at the apex of a clueless wickedness, it wouldn't take much convincing. I am pretty much there.

Blessing or Curse?

Patriotism and Ungodliness

Samuel Johnson once famously proclaimed, "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel".  He had a point.  For the Christian patriotism ought always be written in lower case.  There is a form of patriotism which honours God.  There is also a patriotism which is a cursed idolatry and angers the Almighty.  How can we distinguish? 

Love of one's country always must be a subset of one's love for God, for His creation, and for His providential care and provision of His image bearers and other creatures.  We love our parents because it is commanded by God Himself: they have provided for us, protected us, and taken care of us.  Consequently we return love and affection and care for them, even in difficult times, out of love for God. 

Love of nation is similar.