Throughout our history, too many Americans have had much too high an opinion of themselves and their own righteousness as a nation. Unfortunately, the history of the United States is one of many national sins. In considering this question from the perspective of our entire history (I am a historian), it occurred to me that both the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins of Christianity would provide an excellent framework for such a discussion. Please consider the following:
1. Idolatry or making the nation into an object of worship and devotion - which manifests as extreme nationalism/patriotism, elevating service to and participation in the national arena a kind of civic religion. We see this in things like the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, the playing of the National Anthem, Hail to the Chief, and the promotion of patriotic mythologies.
2. Pridefulness - which manifests as pride or boasting about the nation's political system, wealth, military strength, history, education, natural resources, power and influence on the world stage, etc. Americans actively believe and promote the notion that they constitute the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and the corollary view that all other nations are inferior to them.
3. Greediness - which manifests as the relentless exploitation of both natural and human resources. Slavery, child labor, disregard for workers' safety and hygiene, human trafficking, and inadequate compensation and housing for workers are all examples of the exploitation of human resources. Mining, logging, polluting, intensive farming of marginal lands, wanton destruction, waste, and ignoring all problems relating to sustainability are all examples of the exploitation our natural resources.
4. Violence and vengefulness - which has manifested itself in the nation instigating many unjust military actions both within its own borders (think raids against and massacres of Native Americans) and around the world (think Mexican-American War and Spanish-American War). The United States killed large numbers of its own citizens and damaged vast stretches of countryside as a consequence of the American Civil War. The United States also has a reputation for having one of the highest incidences of violent crime of any industrialized nation in the world, and its populace is armed better than most of the nations of the earth!
5. Covetousness - which has manifested itself in the forced acquisition of Native American lands, the internal imposition of the principle of eminent domain on its own populace, the misappropriation of public resources (think lands and forests), and imperialistic policies toward the other nations of the earth.
6. Lustfulness - which has manifested itself in the promotion of prostitution, pornography, advertising, movie making, television programing, misogyny in the workplace and home, abuse of power, pedophilia, the flourishing of serial rapists and murderers, divorce, promiscuity, teen pregnancy, gambling, lotteries, etc.
7. Overindulgence - which has manifested itself in the fact that as high as forty percent of the population suffers from obesity, and large numbers of people have suffered the ill effects of diabetes, smoking, and the consumption of food and drinks with high sodium, sugar, and fat contents. Likewise, this phenomenon has manifested itself in large numbers of folks who regularly abuse alcohol and other mind-altering substances (drugs).
8. Laziness - which has manifest itself in extreme apathy about voting (it has been estimated that more than a third of the eligible voting population didn't vote in the last presidential election), the reluctance of many citizens to fill jobs in certain labor-intensive sectors like agriculture and service. The reluctance of large numbers of people to train for available jobs in the medical or high-tech sectors of the economy. The overall decline in the work ethic of the folks who do participate in the work force (something which is hard to quantify but is readily discernable to employers).
9. Unrighteousness of leadership - which has manifested itself in numerous dirty tricks against political opponents, intentionally lying to the public and each other, the ruthless pursuit and persecution of enemies, marital unfaithfulness, widespread graft and corruption on a grand scale, back-stabbing, and an overall failure to put the country before one's own narrow personal interests or aggrandizement.
10. Hatefulness - which has manifested itself in numerous failures to love America's neighbors. Instead, America has often pursued its own interests at the expense of her neighbors' interests and well-being (think oil and strategic interests related to it). In particular, Americans have often failed to show love to their African brethren - exploiting them for free labor in times past and often ignoring their interests and concerns altogether more recently. Likewise, Americans have often failed to welcome immigrants and political refugees from other nations into their midst (think Chinese, Japanese, Irish, and Latin Americans more recently).
What do you think?
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