The problem confronting the English (and other European) empire builders was very simple. Even by their own rules, the unilateral, uninvited, and unprovoked intrusion over thousands of miles by one culture into the life and affairs of another could not be explained or justified by an appeal to self-defense. That primal right could plausibly be invoked, even at best, only after the initial penetration had occurred and was resisted. Hence the initial invasion must be justified by some other logic. Over the years, scholars dealing with that problem have tended to separate into two groups: one emphasizes the importance of color (blacks and browns are inferior); the other stresses Christianity (heathens are agents of the Devil and so must be converted or destroyed).
Many Americans, poor as well as powerful, and agricultural as well as urban, viewed themselves as agents of God's will and purpose. There is no reason, for example, to doubt the sincerity of John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts when he described the United States as "a nation, coextensive with the North American Continent, destined by God and nature to be the most populous and powerful people ever combined under one social compact."
Jefferson encapsulated the outlook in his famous remark that America was "the world's best hope." That belief had two imperial consequences. First, the behavior of other peoples (including their revolutions) was judged by its correspondence with the American Way. The weaker the correlation, the greater the urge to intervene to help the wayward find the proper path to freedom and prosperity. Second, the faith in Americas uniqueness coupled with the failure of others to copy the perfect revolution generated a deep sense of being alone. Americans considered themselves perpetually beleaguered, an attitude that led on to the conviction that military security was initially to be found in controlling the entire continent-and ultimately prompted them to deny any distinction between domestic and foreign policy.
And so the dilemma: to expand to the optimum imperial limit without going on into the heart of darkness.
Charles Deemer teaches screenwriting at Portland State University. He is a playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and pioneer in hyperdrama. He was the editor of Oregon Literary Review and the artistic director of Small Screen Video.
"Having written almost daily for over 40 years, I can say that writing is not a job or a vocation or a profession--it is an existence. It is a way of being in the world."
"Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street." Mary Ellen Lease, 1890
"All humanity's troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room," - Blaise Pascal.
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