A Look at the ESP Spectrums - Social

I started this series a while back and haven’t come back to it until now. In hindsight, I should have much sooner. I’m going to start this look at the social spectrum by copying exactly from my first post in this series. From my previous column:

“Let’s start with the social in Figure 1.

Note the barbell approach I’ve taken. In this context, pure freedom is the equilibrium. In theory, I suppose we could say pure freedom is anarchy, but for this column, we’re going to assume a government is in place. As we move to the left of the center, we see a secular government begin to encroach on the pure freedom, leading ultimately to a totalitarian secular government. Likewise, as we move right of center, we see a theocratic, religious-based government encroach on pure freedom.

The point is, as we move further left or right, freedom falls under attack. I deliberately structured the color scheme to show that the attacker of freedom is irrelevant.”

The symbolism in color selection (freedom is light and oppression is dark) is intentional.

There were two out-of-scope points. First, is the US semi-freedom secular or theocratic? I contend secular. Second is my belief that the USA is the global champion of freedom, given that we have entities far to our left (China, Russia, North Korea, etc.) and far to our right (Iran).

You wouldn’t believe how much heat I take from the conservatives for saying secular over theocratic. I think it’s a slam-dunk argument, honestly. The beginning of the 1st amendment of our Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The conventional line of thought is for a wall of separation between church and state.

I often hear that the USA is a Christian nation founded on Christian values. I disagree. Not only is that inconsistent with the Constitution (nowhere in there are we described as a Christian nation, even if many of the Founding Fathers were of the faith themselves), but Section 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli explicitly said the USA is not a Christian nation. It reads, “As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” Now, this issue has its fair share of controversy because it’s still questionable whether Article 11 was present in the Arabic version of the treaty (I think it was), but it is generally accepted that Article 11 was in the version of the treaty voted upon by Congress and signed by President John Adams.

As for the second point, that the USA is the global champion of freedom, I get just as much heat from the liberals for thinking that “imperialist America” (their words, not mine) is a worldwide beacon for freedom. Simply put, their view is inaccurate, both from an absolute and a relative perspective. It’s not even a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of historical fact.

First is the absolute perspective. They argue, “Well, Tim, the early USA wasn’t so free of a place for anyone who wasn’t a white male.” They’re right. But that was also well over 200 years ago. Things are very different today. The big injustices like slavery, Jim Crow, and voter disenfranchisement (women and minorities) have all been done away with on the national level. The biggest area of struggle I see today is full equal legal rights for gays (including marriage) and the Obama administration has done more to advance gay rights than any president before. Sure, there are still less widespread injustices, but this is leadership in human rights and social progress.

Now, from the relative perspective, let’s compare the USA to some other countries. Historically, the USA has been a global frontrunner in spreading freedom. Compare the USA to Russia (USSR and present), China, and North Korea on the far left. Compare the USA to Iran on the far right. Which country of those listed has the greatest level of personal freedom? The clear answer is the USA. Engaging in political dissent in any of those countries besides the USA gets you imprisoned, tortured, exiled, and/or killed. I’ve heard countless stories of how bad life was behind the Iron Curtain (here’s a great series).

The bottom line is I see the USA as a semi-free secular entity and the global champion of freedom.

Links: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/SpecialReport.aspx?id=512665