talkpolitics | The American Religion: Rat-Racism

sophia-sadek.livejournal.com posting in

This community selected The Federalist Papers as a text for perusal. As far as I can tell, the only quality that puts it in the chosen category is the fact that Tea Partiers have a fascination with eighteenth century Americana. Still, it gives us an idea of what things were like back in the day before politicians pandered to the lowest common denominator. It is refreshing to read ancient pundits who have no fear of characterizing America as a land of avarice rather than a land of adventure. It is pretty clear that the American republic was founded as an empire of the greedy, by the greedy, and for the greedy.

This is not to say that the majority of Americans fit the description of a rat-race. Although that may be the case today, it was less so at the time. Greedy Europeans did not flock to the shores of America in large numbers until the original rat-race established a safe haven for action. In a way, Alexander Hamilton and his fellow plutocrats blazed the trail for generations to come. His honesty in describing his people as "ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious" set the stage for such people to accept the American empire as their fortress of acquisitiveness.

Clinton Rossiter, the editor of the Penguin edition, describes the difficulty that arose when Hamilton took credit for all of the Federalist Papers, despite the contributions of other authors. This avaricious conduct reflects behavior of business people who take credit for the work of their employees. It is standard rat-like conduct.

Hamilton's ambitious nature revealed itself when he took up the banner of empire to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in my home state of Pennsylvania. One of his relatives likened him to Napoleon for his heavy handed tactics. His vindictive nature led him to snipe at Aaron Burr and to go so far as throw the ensuing duel in an attempt at martyrdom. For rapacity we need look no further than his remark that Native Americans were the "natural born" enemies of the empire. Long before J. Edgar Hoover feared a Commie under every bed, Hamilton hand animosity against people of a more communal spirit.

In an era when Barak Obama has donned the mantle of the Great Emancipator, it is appropriate that his detractors be conferred the mantle of the petty plutocrat. Alexander Hamilton serves as a fitting icon for the rat-racism that we know and cherish in today's American body politic.

Do you have any observations on the man of the ten spot?

Mood: contemplative
Location: United States, California, San Francisco
Music: Heavenly Bank Account (Zappa)

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From:

telemann.livejournal.com

PBS "American Experience" did a much more detailed and less Cliff-Notes version of Hamilton's great contributions to American history.

From:

sophia-sadek.livejournal.com

Priceless. I would not attempt to compete with such a production. The funeral oration composition scene reminds me of a joke I recently heard about the funeral of a rich bastard. His brother and business partner offered the presiding rabbi a million dollars to say that his brother was a mensch. After listing all of the negative attributes of the deceased, the rabbi said, "But compared to his brother, he was a mensch."