What IS the American Ideal?
post 63 – Saving American Democracy 2
WHAT IS “AMERICA?”
When I think of “America,” I don’t think primarily of a group of people or a geographical location. Nor do I think primarily about the politics – the “political America.” These thoughts are there, of course, but first and foremost, I think of a philosophy, a promise, an aspiration, an ideal – The American Ideal.
ALIVE AND WELL
In last week’s episode of Looking for America, I wrote that the American Ideal is alive and well because ideals are indestructible. But they are also unattainable.
THE ETERNAL PLUS FACTOR
For, if we were to attain an ideal, then what? There’s always a step further. Always a plus factor. No matter how ideal a situation is, there is always a greater version ahead of us. This means the station we have attained is not perfect. There’s a greater vision. And if and when we reach it, that is no longer the ideal. Something even greater is.
CONTENTMENT
If someone feels anxious or cynical about this, the remedy is contentment. There is an unlimited pool of appreciation, creativity, and - yes, Kamala was right - joy that accompanies celebrating our small but progressive victories. Contentment must, of course, not be confused with complacency. We can appreciate what we currently have while still striving for something greater.
This is the joy of living the journey. Not being somewhere else, but being fully here, now. The past becomes a memory. The future remains a dream. And we recognize the present as reality. Then, the journey becomes the destiny. The process becomes the product.
We operate in the grey area between the current reality and our vision for the future. Our true selves are revealed not by where we are but by where we aspire to be. Not by what we have but by what we strive to achieve. The measure of our success is not our accomplishments or talent, but our effort. It may sound paradoxical, but I have found the quickest way to get where I’d like to be is by “perfecting” where I am now – fully and passionately, always with the vision foremost in my consciousness.
THE AMERICAN IDEAL
The “American Ideal” is all of this – a journey, a process, an effort. It is a dream for us as a collective society to forever work toward, knowing that we will never fully attain it.
The American Ideal is the vision that we, the people, can govern ourselves as long as we aren’t harming each other, God’s critters or God’s creation. I’d like to examine this piece by piece, but space allows us to look at only two points today.
THE INDIVIDUAL
First, this ideal is not referring to “individualism” which I define as the me-me-me, get-the-government-off-my-back, leave-me-and-my-family-alone approach to society.
Individualism is technically an “–ism,” a belief system that puts the individual at the center of the universe. The compass needle of individualism points to “how can I personally benefit?” Something is right if it benefits me. It’s wrong if it hurts me. There is little consideration for the greater good. Unsurprisingly, many religious scholars define individualism as a form of atheism.
“Individuality,” on the other hand, is a hugely important factor contributing to the success of the American experience. This topic is worthy of an entire chapter, so let’s leave the distinction here and move on.
OF, FOR, AND BY THE PEOPLE
Second, the Ideal tells us how to govern ourselves - through democracy - rule of, for, and by the people. In a monoculture, pure democracy might work. But, America is a mixing bowl of diverse cultures, so the best model here is representative democracy. Since nobody has a monopoly on truth, diverse groups of people collectively vote for someone to represent them and their interests. These representatives then collectively devise ways to govern.
Because this ideal never works perfectly – some will argue we’ve never even come close – is no excuse to embrace anti-American forms of government - the two extremes of which are anarchy and authoritarianism.
ANARCHY
Anarchy means rule by nobody. In practice, it includes seemingly small things like ignoring traffic laws, running red lights and stop signs with little fear the police will stop you. Or defying noise-control ordinances by driving around without mufflers, effectively flipping the bird at the rest of society. On a grander scale, it includes self-interested political corruption like presidents flaunting conflict-of-interest laws and making millions by charging foreign diplomats to stay at their Washington, DC hotels.
I had a rather disturbing run-in with Anarchy at a music conference I attended in Michigan in 2019 - which I refer to as the “Conference.” A board of directors member asked me to moderate a panel discussion, but failed to warn me that one of the panelists didn’t “believe in moderators.” The panelist later told me he didn’t believe in leaders at all. Consequently, that panelist openly defied my leadership, insisting on rearranging the room according to his desire and against my wishes, and interrupting when he disagreed with me – yelling, disrespecting, and dishonoring me in front of a roomful of music industry professionals.
The fallout was worse. The conference director scolded me saying “There is no hierarchy at” this conference. But if that is true, no one is in charge. Nobody has the authority to organize panel discussions or choose panelists. Nobody has the authority to crack down on individualists who act out their personal agendas regardless of how they hurt others. And nobody has the authority or the right to scold anybody.
AUTHORITARIANISM
The other extreme of anti-American government authoritarianism - rule by a king, queen or prince, a pope, rabbi or imam, a dictator, oligarchy, or demigod. Something is right because the authoritarian says so, regardless of what the people express through their representatives.
Let’s not fool ourselves into denying that the American people just voted for an authoritarian government. There may be legitimate reasons to have done so. I don’t believe there are. But let’s call a spade a spade. The incoming government won on a promise to bypass civil servants, experts, scientists, the educated elite, the social conscience, the moral compass, and the Constitution and rule according to whim.
THE ANTI-MAGA LEFT
“There is no hierarchy” is the far left counter-balance to MAGA authoritarism. “There is no hierarchy” is a big reason we have MAGA. The two can’t survive without each other because they both feed off of each other. “There is no hierarchy” and “I alone can fix our problems” are two sides of the same coin. They are both “anti-institutionalist.” They both tear at the pillars of American society.
It would be interesting to watch someone stopped for running a red light tell a cop there is no hierarchy. Or a criminal defendant tell that to a judge.
DEDICATED TO THE PROPOSITION
The American Ideal resides between these two extremes. That’s where I orient my sights. I am dedicated to the proposition that we can govern ourselves as outlined by the American Ideal.
The way I can contribute to our quest for this Ideal is to continue playing “American folk music” - songs of, for, and by the people that reflect and promote the Ideal. And to keep working to “Keep the Flame Alive,” - to keep alive the burning passion to reach toward the Ideal.
I wish all of my readers the courage and clarity to …
Keep the Flame Alive!
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Thanks for this article. I agree: "The quickest way to get where I’d like to be is by “perfecting” where I am now – fully and passionately, always with the vision foremost in my consciousness." Amen to that!
Many times the only thing one can do is to "work to perfect where you are now"; reach the people around you, help where you can and simply love.